Would you be in favour of banning fireworks (other than scheduled displays?)

[FlippidyFlop]

YABU - people should be allowed to let them off any time of the year in their own gardens etc...

YANBU - there is no need to let fireworks off at random times of the year and they should be kept to scheduled displays so people know when to expect them.

I massively judge the selfish twats who let them off in their back garden. As long as they're entertained then fuck anyone else.

Yes ban them

Not all fireworks but definitely Bangers. They get bigger & louder every year and terrorise pets, wildlife and humans, particularly when let off in the quiet of the night.

I hear the unpredictability of them. Last year a group on the toad next to ours had a party at the end of Oct and started setting them off at 10:50pm - totally unnecessary and unsociable. My husband went round to complain and was basically told to F off which says it all really about the selfishness of people

Yes, yes, 1000 times yes!

If someone wants to start a petition, I'll sign it.

Interestingly I haven’t seen any on sale this year and there was a huge question mark over selling to the public last year- think some of the supermarkets said they would remove them. So aside from the obvious covid changes I wonder if generally the tide is turning anyway

I’m assuming all those who say that they would be in favour of silent ones already buy them and not bangers? Given that silent fireworks do exist...

As for the dogs vs fireworks debate, don’t be so ridiculous. 999 are completely inundated on bonfire night. London ambulance posted last year on twitter that a number of their ambulances had had fireworks thrown at them. And it’s not just about dogs, it’s about wildlife, hedgehogs for instance who are bordering on endangered, and they’re just completely antisocial anyway. You might as well just roll up £10 notes and set fire to them....

I agree, and on certain designated dates. If you know when they are you can keep pets indoors and/or avoid the noise if it disturbs you.

Absolutely can’t stand (with exception of organised displays). Cruel people use them to hurt animals, I was always scared to let my cats out around this time.

Yep I really dislike them. They freak my pets out and I fret about how much they must terrify local wildlife. I wouldn't mind so much if it was just 5th November and NYE, but people in my town have been setting them off already.

I think there should be a balance. I think the loud rocket/aerial fireworks should 100% be banned for public purchase and should be restricted to events.

But there are some smaller, noise free fireworks like the Roman candle style fireworks which I think, when used responsibly, should be allowed. They also don't spread debris across hundreds of metres because they're small fireworks, and the damage to the area is mitigated within that person's property.

It should be like driving. License and insurance required to purchase.

I'm on the fence. I ha e great childhood memories of a few small fireworks in the back garden on bonfire night. Due to a family member having a disability we were never able to go to organised displays. I'd like to do a few small ones this year for the dc given there'll be no organised displays.

On the other side of it, there are very good arguments for banning them. They can easily get into the wrong hands making them dangerous, people set them off at the wrong times upsetting neighbours and causing a nuisance.

So if you’d ban fireworks would you ban dogs too? - dogs cause more injuries.... but not as harmful to wildlife.. Maybe - or maybe they are, I don’t know. Cats on the other hand definitely are... shall we ban them? The reality is we all have our pets/activities/love of multiple holidays abroad/I phones/love of meat or whatever that can be argued to be harmful. Picking someone else’s activity that sometimes is inconvenient to you to ban is hypocritical if you won’t ban stuff equally as harmful as that doesn’t bother you.

Very good points, and I say that as someone with a dog and a cat (neither of whom seem to be bothered by fireworks).

Thanks for the info on low noise/silent fireworks.
I'm getting those now - at least until they banned entirely.
We have a few on 5th or nearest suitable evening, will continue until banned.

@DDiva

I love fireworks. I live in Sussex so can attend many organised events in sep/oct/nov in a 'normal' year. I also fully support private purchases.

I'm a Bonfire Society Member, and i believe fireworks should only be for insured and organised displays only

Normally in Sussex we start on Saturday nights, on the first Saturday in September ending in mid November. You know where and when they are happening, and you can plan around it

@dworky

Not all fireworks but definitely Bangers. They get bigger & louder every year and terrorise pets, wildlife and humans, particularly when let off in the quiet of the night.

Would be fine with a ban on loud ones - for all displays actually.

Not a full ban (dome of our neighbours have amazing displays) but a time ban. Only allowed on certain days. Fines otherwise. Hard to control though.

Yes. I say every year that I think you should have to have a licence to handle fireworks. Scheduled displays are wonderful but I don't think the general public should have access to them.

I love fireworks, and setting them off (responsibly) is at least half of the fun!

I'm sure they used to be quieter though, and only set off the quiet ones myself. Fortunately my friendship group are all quiet-firework-lovers (apart from one, who is outvoted!) so we tend to have a small display that isn't noisy.

It would be a shame to lose that event for us, and I'd rather tighter controls on the big rockets that make lots of noise etc.

I adore fireworks. I think they should only be sold to competent users for organised displays.

I don't think we should be this keen on banning things. Fine to prefer organised displays; fine to encourage organised displays; fine to moan on social media about how annoying fireworks are. Not fine to ban things without a really, really compelling reason. As Justasecondnow said, we all have our own interests, and we need to live and let live a little.

I'm sure they used to be quieter though

I mentioned this to my DH last New Years. I am absolutely confident that they did not shake windows like this when I was younger.

I think that should be tackled and noise limits imposed on manufacturers.

I’m in favour of licensing firework displays. Every year there are far too many stories about fireworks being thrown at emergency vehicles. This not only endangers the crew but also threatens to take that vehicle of the road for repair. ‘Its a bit of fun’ is no comfort to the person left to die in a car crash or a house fire because some yob has deliberately harmed the paramedic/fire fighter that could have saved them.

Licensed, official displays are the way forward. No one needs explosives in their lives.