Firework Pet Alert policy

Advance notice, proportionate regulation and independent evidence

This page records Firework Pet Alert’s organisational position. It is separate from government information and is not a suggested response to any consultation. Information about the service, its independence and who runs it is on the About page.

Policy version 1.3 · updated 18 August 2026

UK consultation opened 16 July 2026

Firework Pet Alert’s 2026 consultation position

This is Firework Pet Alert’s view, not a suggested answer. Anyone responding to government should consult the official material and reach their own conclusions.

Consumer-firework noise: FPA does not take a predetermined position for or against lowering the statutory maximum. The evidence currently available does not establish that 90, 100 or 110 dB (A,imp) is the most effective and proportionate threshold for improving animal welfare. FPA will neither assume that the lowest numerical limit must be the best policy nor rule out a reduction if reliable evidence supports it.
How measures should be compared: Noise limits should be assessed alongside UK-wide advance notification, predictable display times, improved planning and coordination, public information, product standards and effective enforcement.
Question 3 and shot tubes: Cannot support the proposal as presently drafted without precise product definitions, intended construction and conformity classifications, affected-product scope and supporting evidence. Current government guidance already says the single-item prohibition extends to batteries or combinations containing more than one shot tube.
Product restrictions and transition: Support evidence-led restrictions where a product presents unacceptable risk, with workable definitions, enforceability and a proportionate transition that avoids unsafe disposal or illegal supply.
Advance notification: Support a consistent UK-wide advance-notification framework as a normal requirement for planned professional, public and community displays, with free and strongly encouraged private-display notification initially. Any national arrangement should be open, interoperable and privacy-preserving rather than dependent on one provider.
Changes and cancellations: Notifications must remain current. The operational service queues prompt email and push updates to matched subscribers when an organiser changes the schedule or cancels through the dashboard.

Read the consultation hub for the official questions, source tracker and the distinction between government proposals and this position.

Standing policy principles

How decisions are approached

Animal welfare: FPA is not neutral about reducing avoidable firework-related distress.
Evidence-led interventions: FPA is impartial about which regulatory and practical measures will achieve that objective most effectively and proportionately. It does not predetermine the answer.
Advance notice: a consistent UK-wide route should cover planned private, community and professional fireworks, with prompt updates when plans change.
Proportionality: regulation should address evidenced harm while considering safety, lawful use, enforcement, cultural and community practice, practical feasibility and unintended consequences.
Enforcement: illegal sale, misuse and antisocial behaviour need effective enforcement alongside any regulatory change.
Representation: evidence should include animals and carers, PTSD and sensory sensitivity, families, communities, firework users, organisers, retailers, emergency services, councils and regulators.

Evidence standards

What counts and how it is reported

Firework Pet Alert uses primary public sources for policy summaries wherever possible and labels organisational views separately. Its optional survey records role, nation, firework experience, affected groups, frequency, notice usefulness and preference, noise preference, views on notification, willingness to notify and optional practical context.

Survey responses are not government consultation responses. Public reporting should use anonymised aggregates, state sample size and limitations, avoid claiming a representative UK sample unless that is demonstrated, and retain disagreement and neutral responses rather than presenting only supportive evidence.

Review, change log and corrections

A policy that can be checked

This policy is reviewed when legislation, official guidance, material evidence, ownership, funding or decision control changes. Substantive changes will receive a new version and publication date. The 2026 consultation tracker is reviewed separately as new original sources appear.

Corrections can be sent through the feedback form. The current governance, funding and interest-disclosure process is published on the About page.

Version history: 1.3 (18 August 2026) — moved organisational purpose, privacy and independence information to the About page so this page contains policy positions only. Version 1.2 (18 August 2026) clarified that FPA is committed to animal welfare but impartial about the most effective intervention, and removed a predetermined position on lowering the statutory noise maximum. Version 1.1 (17 August 2026) added a governance cross-reference and operational cancellation and schedule-change alerts. Version 1.0 (17 August 2026) was the first permanent publication.