Like many dog owners I dread this time of year.
There are few things more heartbreakingly frustrating than seeing a wonderful animal that I love in a state of distress and knowing there is only so much I can do to help relieve his pain.
This has been the case for me for the past few nights as my gentle and naturally nervous Romanian rescue dog Billy has been lying in his bed, vibrating with stress as a cacophony of bangs and booms explode outside our home. It is October 19 and we know we have weeks more of this to come.
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Billy is two now, so we have had a couple of years of this and have done what we can to prepare. We flood the house with Classic FM, we've bought him a Thundershirt to help with the anxiety and are dosing him up with CBD oil. We think this it is helping a little, but he's still clearly upset and scared each night right now. I know many other pets are in a similar position.
It feels like the firework period lasts longer each year. Since late September I have seen shops pop up with banners advertising cheap sales and the nightly crescendos began a few days later. When these events have a negative impact on someone or something you love - it can feel pretty relentless.
Because this isn't just about dogs or even just about animals. There are lots of people with particular conditions or issues that make this period very difficult and nerve-wracking. Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury took to Twitter last night to call for greater regulation around fireworks, referring to a constituent of his who is an armed forces veteran suffering with PTSD and finds this "ever extended firework season horrendous."
Like Mike, I am not advocating for an outright ban, but I do think there is a strong case for tighter regulations around the sale of fireworks and how and when they can be used. This is not a particularly radical suggestion.
In fact this summer, Members of the Scottish Parliament voted through a new set of restrictions on the sale and use of fireworks. The legislation will create a licensing scheme and limit the number of days when they can be sold. It means fireworks can only be bought and used by members of the public at certain times of the year, including Guy Fawkes Day, Hogmanay, Chinese New Year and Diwali.
Scottish councils can also now establish firework control zones where it will be an offence for them to be used, by either the public or professionals, other than in a display "of essential purposes". There have been calls for the UK government to bring in similar measures.
This is something the RSPCA has been pushing for. Its Bang Out Of Order campaign suggests that for Bonfire Night, fireworks should only be sold between October 29 and November 5, with a limit in the days the can be let off. They too call for firework control zones, a licensing system for the purchase and sale of fireworks to members of the public and a reduction in the maximum permitted noise level of fireworks.
These all seem fairly sensible measures to me and would mean that people can still enjoy the use of fireworks around certain occasions but those with pets or family members who struggle with the impacts they bring can more easily plan to avoid them or take measures to help.
Share your thoughts on the fireworks here.
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