PRESSURE is mounting on the government to take steps to regulate fireworks more due to the stress they cause pets.
A new petition, calling for fireworks to be restricted to two weeks per year around Bonfire Night, has garnered hundreds of signatures since being lodged this week.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Mary Le Hegarat is set to discuss the Explosives (Jersey) Law – which governs the use and sale of fireworks on the Island – at a meeting next week with Deputy Max Andrews, who raised concerns that current firework usage was “causing distress to animals”.
Monique de la Perrelle, who lodged the petition, said she was trying to strike a balance between the current situation and the total ban that some animal lovers have advocated.
“I’m not anti-fireworks, but I know people with pets which go through a lot of distress and need medication to calm them,” she said.
“The firework ‘season’ seems to go on for weeks on end and members of the public can access noisier fireworks that are then set off at any time without giving a warning.
“I think there should be a defined period around 5 November, and at other times it should only be possible to set off fireworks that make less noise.”
Such a move would bring Jersey into line with Guernsey, where there is legislation around bonfires to the days immediately around 5 November.
The petition can be found online at: petitions.gov.je/petitions/201058.
JJ Gallagher, a member of Jersey’s Facebook-based Dog Forum, recently told the JEP that his dog Sammie endured 11 days of “petrifying” fireworks set off at private gatherings which he says have become “way too loud”.
Other pet owners have also spoken out, including those with cats and horses who have become distressed by fireworks, while an Island vet also gave her view.
Ruth Guegan, from All Pets Veterinary Services, in St Peter, told this newspaper that she saw clients coming into the practice “complaining that the fireworks have not just been an isolated day – it’s been going on for a week, ten days”.
Ms Guegan said “noise phobias” intensify with time and exposure for dogs as they begin to attribute certain times of the year with feeling scared.
“Every time [dogs] get exposed to the thing that causes the phobia, it gets worse and it escalates.
“Dogs with noise phobias get worse year on year, and they become more anxious because, as soon as they notice that the days are getting shorter and the evenings are getting darker sooner, they attribute that to knowing that that negative experience is going to happen.”
Speaking to the JEP ahead of his meeting with the Home Affairs Minister, Deputy Andrews said: “Having spoken to several members of the public, it has been evident that the current use of fireworks is causing distress to animals.
“As a result, action has to be taken to reform the governance arrangements around the use and distribution of fireworks to better protect animals.”
In December 2022, former minister Deputy Helen Miles responded to a previous petition calling for fireworks “without a bang”, which attracted more than 2,600 signatures.
Deputy Miles said she believed there was a “strong argument” that current regulations were insufficient and pledged to introduce revisions to the law during her term of office.
However, she left the role in January 2024 after the vote of no confidence in former Chief Minister Kristina Moore.
