20 December 2025

Parliamentary debate date announced in response to our fireworks petition

Image of the Keep Horses In Mind campaign logo (the Redwings logo with fireworks) and the text "Fireworks petition to be debated in parliament!"

It has been announced today (Saturday 20th December) that Redwings’ fireworks petition will be debated in Parliament in the New Year.

Our UK Government and Parliament petition to reduce the maximum noise level of consumer fireworks from 120 to 90 decibels has so far been signed by over 175,000 people including celebrities and influencers, amongst them broadcaster and writer Sir Stephen Fry.

It crossed the 100,000-signature threshold to be considered for a Parliamentary debate just before Bonfire Night.
The date has been set for Monday 19th January at 4.30pm at Westminster Hall, London.

We're now asking you to contact your MP to get them to attend.

Helen Whitelegg, Campaigns and Policy Manager at Redwings, said: “We’ve been waiting for this announcement for some weeks and are delighted that the debate will come shortly after New Year’s Eve, another date strongly associated with fireworks.

“We have a letter to MPs available to download and customise here (DOCX 17 KB), and all the details you need to send this to your local representative are available here.

“Ninety-five MPs from England, Scotland, Wales and across the political spectrum came to a drop-in event at Westminster to talk about the effects of fireworks on animals and people in November and we hope they will be motivated to attend on this date.

“As with all Parliamentary debates, a relevant Government minister will be there to listen and respond, making this a vital opportunity to canvas the people responsible for fireworks regulations and ensure they understand the strength of feeling on this issue across the UK.”

Devastatingly, Redwings has lost three of our own rescued residents – Percy, Sprite and Cinders - because of fireworks being set off near our sanctuary sites in the past. We have hundreds of horses, ponies, donkeys and mules, many of whom have previously endured cruelty or neglect, living at Visitor Centres in Norfolk, Essex, Warwickshire and Angus, Scotland, as well as other sites around the UK.

We launched our Keep Horse in Mind campaign last year and have been working with other charities and individuals to gather information, raise awareness and seek changes to legislation.

Research, including a Redwings survey of over 5,000 UK horse owners, suggests that reducing the permitted noise levels for fireworks could reduce their negative impact, and hopefully result in fewer horse deaths. Twenty-six horses died due to fireworks between 2021 and 2025 according to the British Horse Society's incident-recording system. It is recognised that many more incidents will go unrecorded.

Earlier this month we released a film voiced by actor, filmmaker, animal welfare and conservationist Dan Richardson featuring five stories of horses and their owners who’ve suffered because of fireworks and urged people to use low-noise fireworks if at all this New Year’s Eve.

Watch the film below.

To find out more about Redwings’ work on fireworks - including advice and resources to help horse owners prepare - please visit: www.redwings.org.uk/fireworks

Lucy the horse stood wearing a rug beside her owner.
Watch our video on the impact of fireworks here.
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Redwings Press Office

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