UK ministers weigh partial ban on backyard fireworks, with noise limit cut from 120dB to 110dB proposed

Ministers in the United Kingdom are weighing a partial ban on backyard fireworks, as a government consultation on proposals including reserving louder fireworks for professional users closed earlier this month amid concerns over noise.

The move comes as the season of celebrations with fireworks, including Diwali, Bonfire Night and New Year's Eve, begins. Concerns about the noise and availability of fireworks were aired in a parliamentary debate in January, with two petitions each clocking up more than 180,000 signatures.

Harriet Main, a public affairs manager at the RSPCA, said the charity was thrilled by the consultation. For too long, she said, pets, wildlife and livestock have suffered stress, fright and severe injury caused by loud, unregulated backyard displays.

The RSPCA said its own online action to help supporters submit views to the consultation generated over 51,000 responses. In recent years there have been reports of animal fatalities linked to fireworks, from the death of a baby red panda at Edinburgh zoo to a dachshund in North Yorkshire.

Ministers have ruled out a complete ban on the public buying fireworks. Instead, their proposals include expanding the list of fireworks banned for general sale and reducing the permitted decibel level of consumer fireworks from 120dB to 110dB, meaning their loudness would be approximately halved.

Dr Gwen Rees, president of the British Veterinary Association, said vets were acutely aware of the fear, distress, injury and lasting anxiety fireworks caused to animals in the UK each year. Lower noise limits would reduce one of the main causes of distress while allowing celebrations to continue, she said, while warning that flashes and unpredictable timing can still affect animals.

A tightening of regulations has been backed by the National Farmers' Union, which cited animal welfare concerns and fire risks from private displays. The NFU noted that one member reported losing around four acres of wheat after a firework landed in a standing crop during harvest.

The British Fireworks Association has pushed back, noting that behaviours that frustrate communities, such as setting off fireworks in a public place or after 1am, are already illegal, and that removing large numbers of legal and regulated products from the consumer market might push people towards hidden-market fireworks.

Efforts in Scotland, including firework control zones where the devices are banned, have had a mixed reception. Helen Whitelegg, campaigns manager at Redwings Horse Sanctuary, said the zones create a two-tier system of protection and risk pushing more use to surrounding areas. She added that a widely anticipated licensing requirement for anyone using fireworks has been shelved due to lack of resources.

The UK is not alone: in the Netherlands a countrywide ban on most consumer fireworks came into effect in August, Czechia has also tightened its regulations, and on 29 November Swiss citizens will vote on proposals to ban noisy fireworks. Germany already has a limited window in which fireworks can be bought or used, and one survey suggested almost half of those polled favoured a total ban, with exceptions only for very small fireworks such as sparklers.

The government said changes to pyrotechnics and fireworks regulations will be made as soon as parliamentary time allows after analysis of the consultation feedback, with a six-month transitional period after the law is changed. Redwings backed reducing the maximum loudness of fireworks to 90dB, as is the case in New Zealand.