Fork in fireworks...

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

...have started already. My dog (35 kilo labrador) is shaking and trying to get on my lap.

Anyone else think they should be illegal to the general public except for during the one week of bonfire night?

Nooooooooooooooooooooo, how we sposed to play firework quake if they won't sell em?

Originally Posted by Lissa

It's Diwali, the Indian festival of lights. Been going off all evening here, but our three cats are just sleeping through it

Your in rugby.

Im suprised its not like the battle of the somme re-enactmentover by you

could be worse, you could get THIS lot launched at ya!

dependent on the night of the 5th nov means the weekend before the week of 5th and the weekend after is normally the worst, but new year, diwali, christmas and other festivals set them off meaning you do get them round here from early sept to late jan.

but im young and like the BANG!

[21QUEST]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

yes, i've had my fun, but now i'm old they're far too dangerous!

Cheers
Ben

[Jayneflakes]

I love fireworks, they are great fun. Mind you, I have made my own in the lab and played with those too.

Licensing is fine, as with alcohol, but a blanket ban is not fair.

To my mind, a bigger danger on the street is the motor car. If we banned the motorcar, the streets would be safer, there would be a lot less noise and I could play on my space hopper with out worrying about traffic accidents.

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Anyone else think they should be illegal to the general public except for during the one week of bonfire night?

What I meant by that was should it be illegal to set them off other than on a given number of dates, not illegal to buy, and I suppose those dates would need to include religious festivals.

Alcohol is a good comparison actually, it's sale is licensed but you can buy it any time, it therefore shouldn't get sold to under 18's, and in most places it's illegal to drink it in the street.

Also it's illegal to sound your horn after 11pm, so why shouldn't the same apply to fireworks? Regardless of the date.

Would help to stop the chavs in the street but not the genuine garden parties.

[anna]

Here they are set off just about every weekend to mark some saints day or other. Mostly they are flash bang fireworks set off during the day so they dont even look pretty!

Each to their own, just seems a waste to me if you dont get to see how pretty they are.

[dirtydog]

Originally Posted by shonadoll

It's horrible for dogs and cats, we see an awful lot of terrified animals in work this time of year, wanting medication. The problem is, a lot of puppies and young dogs are fine, but as they get older, it can become a major stressor, our 7 year old dog was fine till about a couple of year ago, and is now scared.

I think they should be available for organised displays, and for a certain time each year, but dogs not withstanding, they annoy and upset loads of people too. I can't understand why people think it is socially acceptable to let them off at midnight on a Sunday.

Best thing to do with dogs is feed a high carbohydrate meal, like rice or pasta/chicken, have some music with drums playing, and act like there's nothing happening, and don't comfort the dog. Sounds awful but it does help-my Hamish is a lot more settled now we ignore him.

A DAP (dog appeasing pheromone) diffuser is also an idea, it gives off similar pheromones to their mum, and can help some dogs. Just like a plug in air freshener, but they don't smell.

My dog (Tye) is a bit of a wuss he was always a bit unsure of them now he's really scared of them to the point of turning into a drooling mess. Now he's getting older he's getting much worse to the extent that he's now scared of bubble wrap, the mere sight of it has him legging it out of the room!

Perhaps a suitable solution would be to only allow the sale of non-extra-noisy fireworks? Ban bangers and screamers completely.

As well as the cats and dogs, they also frighten very young children, and sensitive children. Not to mention wildlife. I don't think it's particularly fair.

Setting them off without 'good cause' should be an offence, any time of the day or night.