FIREWORKS MAY LAST only seconds, but for some animals the consequences can continue for days, weeks or longer. As Halloween approaches, perhaps it is time to rethink not just how we protect animals from fireworks, but how we celebrate in the first place.
Every Halloween, we hear familiar advice about helping our pets cope with fireworks. Close the curtains. Turn on the television. Walk dogs before dark. It is sensible advice, and for many animals it makes a difference.
But what does an animal actually experience when a firework explodes nearby? For the person watching, a firework may be a few seconds of excitement, colour and spectacle. For a frightened animal, those same seconds can become part of a much longer experience of fear.
Advertisement
As a behaviourist, I regularly work with dogs whose fear of fireworks has extended far beyond the explosions themselves. Some begin to associate darkness with threat. Others become anxious in the garden, on a particular walking route or when they hear sounds that previously meant nothing to them.
Dogs that once waited excitedly at the front door for their evening walk may become reluctant to leave the house. Their owners are understandably confused. The fireworks have stopped. Why is their dog still frightened?
The answer lies partly in how fear and learning work. When an animal experiences something frightening, it does not necessarily remember only the sound. It can also learn to associate the surrounding circumstances with the possibility of danger. The place, the time of day, the sounds of people may begin to predict another frightening experience. Over time, fear can spread beyond the original trigger.
A dog is no longer simply afraid of a firework. It may become afraid of the possibility of one.
Fear doesn’t end when the sound does
A 2019 study published in PLOS ONE, involving 1,225 dogs, found that while almost three-quarters of dogs affected by firework fear recovered by the following morning, approximately 12% took several days to a week, and over 3% experienced effects lasting weeks or even months.
Research has also documented clear signs of distress during firework events, including panting, restlessness and fearful body postures. When fireworks occur repeatedly and unpredictably, animals may remain anxious and hypervigilant long after the noise has stopped, anticipating the next frightening event.
A 2024 Dutch study involving reports on 3,009 dogs and 622 cats found that 64.3% of owners reported hearing fireworks from September onwards. This highlights an important welfare concern: fireworks are not necessarily a single night’s disturbance, but repeated exposures over several months, potentially prolonging fear and limiting opportunities for recovery.
When one night becomes an entire season
One of the greatest challenges with fireworks is their unpredictability. Planned displays allow owners to prepare by exercising dogs earlier, bringing animals indoors and arranging veterinary treatment where necessary. But when fireworks are set off randomly over several weeks, that protection becomes almost impossible.
As an animal behaviourist, I can help dogs overcome fears through desensitisation and counterconditioning. But effective behaviour modification requires gradual, controlled exposure at an intensity the animal can tolerate. Random fireworks undermine that process, and repeated frightening experiences can strengthen fear rather than reduce it.
What about the animals we cannot bring indoors?
Our conversations about fireworks tend to focus on pets, particularly dogs. But the effects extend well beyond our homes. Consider a wild bird roosting at night. Its resting place has been selected because it offers some degree of security. Suddenly, the sky erupts with noise and light. The bird takes flight.
From our perspective, the disturbance may last seconds. For the bird, taking flight means expending energy, leaving a resting site and potentially entering unfamiliar or hazardous surroundings. And we now have remarkable scientific evidence of just how extensive this disturbance can be. A study published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment in 2024 used weather radar to examine birds’ responses to New Year’s Eve fireworks in the Netherlands. Researchers found that, on average, approximately 1,000 times as many birds were in flight during the immediate firework disturbance as on ordinary nights. In some locations, the increases were even more dramatic, reaching 10,000 to 100,000 times normal flight activity.
The effect was particularly pronounced within five kilometres of fireworks, although increased flight activity was detectable considerably farther away. Even at distances approaching 10 kilometres, flight activity remained around 10 times higher than on ordinary nights. These are not simply assumptions about what wildlife might be experiencing. They are measurable changes in animal behaviour.
Researchers tracking 347 wild geese across eight New Year periods found that the birds flew farther and higher during fireworks and were more likely to move to different roosting locations. In the following days, many altered their movements and increased feeding activity, changes the researchers interpreted as likely compensation for the additional energy they had expended.
Other research involving free-living greylag geese has documented increases in heart rate and body temperature during firework disturbances. We cannot know precisely what a wild bird subjectively experiences. But we can measure what it does, how its physiology responds and how its behaviour changes afterwards.
When fear becomes dangerous
For horses and other large animals, the consequences of panic can be particularly serious. A 2026 UK study involving reports from 1,234 horse owners and 232 donkey owners documented behaviours including running, kicking, bucking and rearing during fireworks.
Approximately 8% of the horse owners who responded reported a firework-related injury. Fences, stable doors and surrounding obstacles can turn an escape attempt into a serious accident. The researchers also highlighted the importance of adequate warning when owners are trying to protect their animals. And this brings us back to the central problem.
What needs to change?
Around the world, governments are taking different approaches to fireworks, from restricting public access and introducing noise limits to encouraging organised displays.
In the Republic of Ireland, most fireworks associated with Halloween are already heavily restricted. Only Category F1 products, which present very low hazards and negligible noise, are available to the general public, while more powerful fireworks are restricted to specialist users. The Irish debate, therefore, is not simply about introducing a ban, but about illegal supply, enforcement and whether existing legislation is effective.
The Netherlands has gone further, introducing a nationwide ban on ordinary consumer fireworks in August 2026. Small, low-hazard fireworks remain permitted, as do professional displays and certain authorised events.
Scotland has introduced Firework Control Zones, allowing restrictions on private use in designated areas. Animal welfare, livestock and proximity to veterinary facilities and animal shelters are specifically recognised as relevant considerations.
Meanwhile, a UK government consultation, which closed on 7 October 2026, proposed reducing the maximum permitted noise level of consumer fireworks from 120 to 110 decibels, with further consideration of limits as low as 90 decibels.
From an animal welfare perspective, organised, time-limited displays still have consequences, particularly near sensitive wildlife habitats, but they offer opportunities for preparation and protection that random explosions over several weeks simply do not.
We don’t have to choose between celebration and compassion
I do not believe most people who enjoy fireworks want to frighten animals. Many have wonderful childhood memories of Halloween. Fireworks can be exciting, beautiful and closely connected to family and community traditions. It is possible to understand that enjoyment while also recognising the distress fireworks can cause. Perhaps the question is not whether fireworks should exist, but whether the way we use them is reasonable.
Could we restrict louder fireworks to shorter, organised displays at advertised times, locate them away from sensitive habitats and encourage alternative celebrations such as drone displays?
I will continue helping frightened dogs and their families through behaviour modification, environmental management and veterinary support. But there are limits to what even the best treatment can achieve when frightening experiences remain unpredictable and beyond anyone’s control.
We need better enforcement of existing legislation, greater consideration of where and when fireworks are used, and a willingness to embrace alternatives.
We can prepare animals for planned events. We can help them develop greater confidence around frightening sounds. But we cannot reliably protect them from explosions that nobody knew were coming.
Suzi Walsh is an expert dog behaviourist and dog trainer. She has an honours degree in Zoology and a Masters in Applied Animal Welfare and Behaviour from the Royal Dick School of Veterinary. She has worked as a behaviourist on both TV and radio and has also worked training dogs in the film industry.
After the bang: The hidden cost of Halloween fireworks to pets and wildlife
FIREWORKS MAY LAST only seconds, but for some animals the consequences can continue for days, weeks or longer. As Halloween approaches, perhaps it is time to rethink not just how we protect animals from fireworks, but how we celebrate in the first place.
Every Halloween, we hear familiar advice about helping our pets cope with fireworks. Close the curtains. Turn on the television. Walk dogs before dark. It is sensible advice, and for many animals it makes a difference.
But what does an animal actually experience when a firework explodes nearby? For the person watching, a firework may be a few seconds of excitement, colour and spectacle. For a frightened animal, those same seconds can become part of a much longer experience of fear.
As a behaviourist, I regularly work with dogs whose fear of fireworks has extended far beyond the explosions themselves. Some begin to associate darkness with threat. Others become anxious in the garden, on a particular walking route or when they hear sounds that previously meant nothing to them.
Dogs that once waited excitedly at the front door for their evening walk may become reluctant to leave the house. Their owners are understandably confused. The fireworks have stopped. Why is their dog still frightened?
The answer lies partly in how fear and learning work. When an animal experiences something frightening, it does not necessarily remember only the sound. It can also learn to associate the surrounding circumstances with the possibility of danger. The place, the time of day, the sounds of people may begin to predict another frightening experience. Over time, fear can spread beyond the original trigger.
A dog is no longer simply afraid of a firework. It may become afraid of the possibility of one.
Fear doesn’t end when the sound does
A 2019 study published in PLOS ONE, involving 1,225 dogs, found that while almost three-quarters of dogs affected by firework fear recovered by the following morning, approximately 12% took several days to a week, and over 3% experienced effects lasting weeks or even months.
Research has also documented clear signs of distress during firework events, including panting, restlessness and fearful body postures. When fireworks occur repeatedly and unpredictably, animals may remain anxious and hypervigilant long after the noise has stopped, anticipating the next frightening event.
A 2024 Dutch study involving reports on 3,009 dogs and 622 cats found that 64.3% of owners reported hearing fireworks from September onwards. This highlights an important welfare concern: fireworks are not necessarily a single night’s disturbance, but repeated exposures over several months, potentially prolonging fear and limiting opportunities for recovery.
When one night becomes an entire season
One of the greatest challenges with fireworks is their unpredictability. Planned displays allow owners to prepare by exercising dogs earlier, bringing animals indoors and arranging veterinary treatment where necessary. But when fireworks are set off randomly over several weeks, that protection becomes almost impossible.
As an animal behaviourist, I can help dogs overcome fears through desensitisation and counterconditioning. But effective behaviour modification requires gradual, controlled exposure at an intensity the animal can tolerate. Random fireworks undermine that process, and repeated frightening experiences can strengthen fear rather than reduce it.
What about the animals we cannot bring indoors?
Our conversations about fireworks tend to focus on pets, particularly dogs. But the effects extend well beyond our homes. Consider a wild bird roosting at night. Its resting place has been selected because it offers some degree of security. Suddenly, the sky erupts with noise and light. The bird takes flight.
From our perspective, the disturbance may last seconds. For the bird, taking flight means expending energy, leaving a resting site and potentially entering unfamiliar or hazardous surroundings. And we now have remarkable scientific evidence of just how extensive this disturbance can be. A study published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment in 2024 used weather radar to examine birds’ responses to New Year’s Eve fireworks in the Netherlands. Researchers found that, on average, approximately 1,000 times as many birds were in flight during the immediate firework disturbance as on ordinary nights. In some locations, the increases were even more dramatic, reaching 10,000 to 100,000 times normal flight activity.
The effect was particularly pronounced within five kilometres of fireworks, although increased flight activity was detectable considerably farther away. Even at distances approaching 10 kilometres, flight activity remained around 10 times higher than on ordinary nights. These are not simply assumptions about what wildlife might be experiencing. They are measurable changes in animal behaviour.
Researchers tracking 347 wild geese across eight New Year periods found that the birds flew farther and higher during fireworks and were more likely to move to different roosting locations. In the following days, many altered their movements and increased feeding activity, changes the researchers interpreted as likely compensation for the additional energy they had expended.
Other research involving free-living greylag geese has documented increases in heart rate and body temperature during firework disturbances. We cannot know precisely what a wild bird subjectively experiences. But we can measure what it does, how its physiology responds and how its behaviour changes afterwards.
When fear becomes dangerous
For horses and other large animals, the consequences of panic can be particularly serious. A 2026 UK study involving reports from 1,234 horse owners and 232 donkey owners documented behaviours including running, kicking, bucking and rearing during fireworks.
Approximately 8% of the horse owners who responded reported a firework-related injury. Fences, stable doors and surrounding obstacles can turn an escape attempt into a serious accident. The researchers also highlighted the importance of adequate warning when owners are trying to protect their animals. And this brings us back to the central problem.
What needs to change?
Around the world, governments are taking different approaches to fireworks, from restricting public access and introducing noise limits to encouraging organised displays.
In the Republic of Ireland, most fireworks associated with Halloween are already heavily restricted. Only Category F1 products, which present very low hazards and negligible noise, are available to the general public, while more powerful fireworks are restricted to specialist users. The Irish debate, therefore, is not simply about introducing a ban, but about illegal supply, enforcement and whether existing legislation is effective.
The Netherlands has gone further, introducing a nationwide ban on ordinary consumer fireworks in August 2026. Small, low-hazard fireworks remain permitted, as do professional displays and certain authorised events.
Scotland has introduced Firework Control Zones, allowing restrictions on private use in designated areas. Animal welfare, livestock and proximity to veterinary facilities and animal shelters are specifically recognised as relevant considerations.
Meanwhile, a UK government consultation, which closed on 7 October 2026, proposed reducing the maximum permitted noise level of consumer fireworks from 120 to 110 decibels, with further consideration of limits as low as 90 decibels.
From an animal welfare perspective, organised, time-limited displays still have consequences, particularly near sensitive wildlife habitats, but they offer opportunities for preparation and protection that random explosions over several weeks simply do not.
We don’t have to choose between celebration and compassion
I do not believe most people who enjoy fireworks want to frighten animals. Many have wonderful childhood memories of Halloween. Fireworks can be exciting, beautiful and closely connected to family and community traditions. It is possible to understand that enjoyment while also recognising the distress fireworks can cause. Perhaps the question is not whether fireworks should exist, but whether the way we use them is reasonable.
Could we restrict louder fireworks to shorter, organised displays at advertised times, locate them away from sensitive habitats and encourage alternative celebrations such as drone displays?
I will continue helping frightened dogs and their families through behaviour modification, environmental management and veterinary support. But there are limits to what even the best treatment can achieve when frightening experiences remain unpredictable and beyond anyone’s control.
We need better enforcement of existing legislation, greater consideration of where and when fireworks are used, and a willingness to embrace alternatives.
We can prepare animals for planned events. We can help them develop greater confidence around frightening sounds. But we cannot reliably protect them from explosions that nobody knew were coming.
Suzi Walsh is an expert dog behaviourist and dog trainer. She has an honours degree in Zoology and a Masters in Applied Animal Welfare and Behaviour from the Royal Dick School of Veterinary. She has worked as a behaviourist on both TV and radio and has also worked training dogs in the film industry.
annual fireworks column dog welfare Dogs Fireworks fright night Halloween Opinion voices Irish