Fireworks

[Beerhound]

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Advertised in Our Dogs, a new firework petition.

briefly: Restrict them to licensed displays

Include garden fireworks in restricted category

Reduce limit of ALL fireworks to 85db

Illegal to use or possess fireworks without valid licence.

To get petitions contact Theresa Kulkarni email tc.kulkarni@virgin.net

 

[Cerito]

Is there any point?

Don't we have new legislation restricting the size of fireworks used in gardens? Some of my neighbours don't seem to think that this applies to them! I have the sedative ready for tomorrow night for my terrified greyhound. Usually they catch me out by having a huge display two weeks after fireworks night. I have checked with them when they are holding it this year, and at least it is at the same time as everyone elses' displays tomorrow.

:rant: :rant: :rant:

Cerito

 

[Paula Roberts]

Thats the problem it not just bonfire night. We have a hotel down the road from us that do weddings so nearly every saturday night we have them going off, we also have a big garden centre that advertise fireworks for all occasions. Cant wait for new years eve, that was worse than bonfire night last year.

 

[mazza]

It's not Guy Forks until tomorrow night and yet over the last half an hour the bangs from fireworks can be heard here. It might be a display, even though it's only November the 4th. They're not really close but can still hear them over the telly. Alfie jrt is trembling and won't leave my side.

Annie is fairly calm but I think she realises Alf is stressed out and worried so she is getting a bit agitated too.

I'd happily sign a petition to ban fireworks being sold to general public altogether. As it is kids can get hold of fireworks (which seem to get bigger and louder every year) and too many people and animals end up getting badly hurt.

We really can live without them.

Restricting the use of fireworks to organized displays would save a lot of heartache, but it would be better if displays happened on the 5th or the first saturday after the 5th and not any date during the first week of November as is sometimes happening, at least we would be able to prepare for it and making sure our animals are safe on the one and only night when they take place.

 

[Max&Smokey]

Never had a problem with my old dogs with fireworks or the new ones and really enjoy fireworks. Sorry but I'm against a ban.

 

[Janimal]

I agree that they should be banned from public sale.

There are far too many injuries with children who can easily get hold of them from older kids.

I enjoy watching organised displays - at least they are advertised - so you actually know the date and time of the event so can be prepared with the pets.

It goes on far too long now . (w00t) ... my cats are petrified and its hard keeping them in (and you dont know actually WHEN to keep them in now) Oscar is frightened by them too so have invested in some Valarium Skull Cap /St.Johns Wort in the hope of calming him down a bit.

 

[~elizabeth~]

I'd happily sign a petition to ban fireworks being sold to general public altogether. As it is kids can get hold of  fireworks  (which seem to get bigger and louder every year) and too many people and animals end up getting badly hurt.

Totally agree. I enjoy fireworks too, but they're only really enjoyable if you go to a proper display. A couple of loud bangs and a bit of fizzing, which is what most people end up with in the garden, is barely worth the trouble. Ours didn't mind too much, until we had very close neighbours setting off the really loud (hopefully now banned) ones and he freaked out really badly - I did actually go round there and scream at them until they stopped, I was so mad.

It's not just dogs, my parents get in a state about it every year, worrying that the local brat army will push them through their letterbox too. Their next-door neighbour tied roman candles to the fence, only 2 or 3 feet from the house wall and more or less charred the fence and part of the house wall. Being as you can't do a moron test at point of sale, much safer not to let them loose on the general public at all.

Also, having myself been in a burns ward for several weeks as a child, if you'd seen what goes on you really would do anything to avoid the years of pain and annual skin grafts needed throughout childhood to put right the damage.

 

[PeteT]

I'm not in favour of the "if you don't like it, get it banned" culture which seems to be catching on in this country, but I do think that the sale of fireworks should be restricted to say 2 weeks before Nov 5th and the same at new year. Hotels etc could be limited to 4 displays a year.

An outright ban on the sale of fireworks would be a shame I think, some of my happiest childhood memories were of setting off fireworks in the back garden (anyone else remember 'Jumping Jacks'?).

I know what it's like to have a dog terrified of fireworks (and shotguns, and thunder, and anything that sounded remotely like) so I do sympathize.

Incidentally I would also restrict the sale of any Christmas-related products until December 1st, my local garden centre have had their Christmas stuff in for weeks already.

 

[~elizabeth~]

I'm not in favour of the "if you don't like it, get it banned" culture which seems to be catching on in this country,

With respect it's not quite the same thing. There are many things one dislikes that are mildly annoying, but they don't actually threaten life and limb in the way that small explosives do.

 

[PeteT]

I know fireworks are really just small explosives but don't you think it's symptomatic of the mindset we seem to have that anything that is even mildly dangerous has to be stopped or controlled so tightly that any sense of excitement is squeezed out of it.

I know kids get badly hurt every year from fireworks but if we're not careful we get to the situation where no one is allowed out of doors without a thick covering of cotton wool and a pair of safety goggles (game of conkers anyone?), oh and factor 25 on any bits that might god forbid be exposed to the harmful rays of the sun. :rant:

Life should be about excitement and yes, danger ortherwise we might as well stay indoors with the doors locked and the curtains drawn.

Just my opinion of course and not much to do with whippets :blink:

 

[LasVegasNo1]

I agree I don't want a ban. Restrictions yes. As a child growing up we always had fireworks in our back garden as a family and loved it. It was really exciting and only once a year. It seems a shame because of a handful of idiots who let them off anywhere and everywhere that we should all be punished.

 

[Beerhound]

Incidentally I would also restrict the sale of any Christmas-related products until December 1st, my local garden centre have had their Christmas stuff in for weeks already.

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Totally agree with you on this!! One local shop in town already playing Christmas songs as well as all the decorations, they had stuff out before the school summer holidays finished. Christmas is getting earlier each year.

 

[Janimal]

I know fireworks are really just small explosives but don't you think it's symptomatic of the mindset we seem to have that anything that is even mildly dangerous has to be stopped or controlled so tightly that any sense of excitement is squeezed out of it.I know kids get badly hurt every year from fireworks but if we're not careful we get to the situation where no one is allowed out of doors without a thick covering of cotton wool and a pair of safety goggles (game of conkers anyone?), oh and factor 25 on any bits that might god forbid be exposed to the harmful rays of the sun. :rant:

Life should be about excitement and yes, danger ortherwise we might as well stay indoors with the doors locked and the curtains drawn.

Just my opinion of course and not much to do with whippets  :blink:

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Yes Pete.... but these Fireworks are NOT like the ones in our era, they are louder, more powerful, and more dangerous in my opinion and I think better in the right hands eg. at Organised Displays only.

anyway I think there are just more idiots around too these days.

 

[Beerhound]

Someone had just let what sounds like a display mine off on the Downs just over the road. :rant: :rant:

IT IS BROAD DAYLIGHT WHAT IS THE POINT

Pete. my 9 year old son plays conkers - minus the goggles!!!!!

 

[Janimal]

Someone had just let what sounds like a display mine off on the Downs just over the road.  :rant:   :rant: [SIZE=21pt]IT IS BROAD DAYLIGHT WHAT IS THE POINT [/SIZE]Pete. my 9 year old son plays conkers - minus the goggles!!!!!

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Its exactly this - which we are protesting about - talk about stupid people. :rant:

 

[D.Dan]

i read in the sun this week about a yorkshire terrier been blown to bits with a fire work,also a horse had to be put down through dammage by fireworks,both done deliberate by mindless idiots.its those we have to thank for giving fireworks a bad name.i would say yes to a ban if i could,yes i used to love them when i was a child,but as you say they are getting bigger and louder,and they get misused. :rant:

 

[Beerhound]

They have been going off since before 5pm and haven't stopped yet. Some are certainaly NOT garden fireworks. If you fired a 12 bore it would not be as loud as the majority of these round here.

 

[John]

I'm not in favour of the "if you don't like it, get it banned" culture which seems to be catching on in this country, but I do think that the sale of fireworks should be restricted to say 2 weeks before Nov 5th and the same at new year. Hotels etc could be limited to 4 displays a year.An outright ban on the sale of fireworks would be a shame I think, some of my happiest childhood memories were of setting off fireworks in the back garden (anyone else remember 'Jumping Jacks'?).

I know what it's like to have a dog terrified of fireworks (and shotguns, and thunder, and anything that sounded remotely like) so I do sympathize.

Incidentally I would also restrict the sale of any Christmas-related products until December 1st, my local garden centre have had their Christmas stuff in for weeks already.

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In my opinion this thread is about the terror inflicted on animals (after all this is a K9 website) and you stated that you know what it is like to have a dog terrified of fireworks shotguns and thunder (thunder a bit unfair as this is the weather not mankind inflicted) and also you cannot fire a shotgun in a housing estate like you can set off fireworks at this moment. But as you also stated you have happy childhood memories setting off fireworks in the garden but in my opinion we have moved on from jumping jacks some fireworks are very powerfull these days. So lets remove animals from this for a moment and ask how you would feel if a neighbour set off a firework and it hit your garden shed, house or your car causing several hundred pounds of damage how would you feel. At the moment you would probably have to claim off you own insurance (unless your neighbour covered the cost of repairs) because they will probably not be insured for a firework display. I am sure that public displays carry public liability insurance so maybe people who want to set fireworks off in their gardens should do the same that way if they damage someones property or indeed vet bills for distressed animals they are insured. I do agree we live in a ban this ban that culture but at the same time maybe there should be two catagories of fireworks one for housing estates and one for public displays but the sellers should be regulated and also the buyers both should have to attend a course and be cetrificated on completion of the course and also have a licence before they are allowed to sell or buy fireworks and only the licence holder should be able to buy or sell fireworks or use them. After all you cannot walk into a shop a buy catridges for a shotgun without a shotgun licence but you can with fireworks but both are dangerous in the wrong hands. Insurance,courses and licences all for a garden display yes it may sound harsh but if you really wany a safe display for children with the minimum disruption to neighbours and their pets this would not be a problem for a reasponsable person and at the same time stop fireworks falling into the wrong hands. All for just one night lets face it, it is not just one night anymore.

 

[John]

Just a thought could you claim off the public liability insurance from a public didplay for your vet bills? Okay maybe hard to prove with all the fire works in the air but will a insurance company take that risk? I wonder what that would do to the insurance premiums if all the pet lovers asked the question? So if pets are excluded in the small print in the insurance are the people running the display resonsable if they are would you run a display if you were liable? Maybe all the pet lovers out there should contact their local display organisors and ask for their insurance details and write to their insurance company and ask if they are liable for vet costs if not find out if the display organisors are.

 

[PeteT]

OK, here's what we'll do:-

1. Limit the sale of large 'display type' fireworks to those people who have some kind of certificate of competence administered by Health & Safety Executive. These fireworks not to be sold in ordinary shops.

2. Limit the sale of 'garden type' fireworks to those people over the age of 21. Anyone under 21 caught 'in posession', to have said fireworks confiscated and to be escorted round the local hospital burns unit on November 6th. Garden fireworks only to be sold for two weeks prior to Nov 5th and New Years eve.

3. All commercial premises eg hotels, to be limited to 4 firework displays per year with dates published in local paper.

4. Any member of the public setting off fireworks on any dates other than Nov 5th and New Years eve to be fined £500, money to go towards providing free firework desensitizing CD's for owners of traumatised whippets :cheers: