Fireworks, as many of us witnessed last week, are hugely popular, be they large-scale professional displays or back-garden shows for family and friends. But for those with pets and livestock the season can cause anxiety, and there is growing pressure on the government to act. On January 19 calls for quieter fireworks will be debated in parliament, in response to two petitions. The first, signed by 177,000 people since September, including Sir Stephen Fry, is calling for the maximum noise level of consumer fireworks to be reduced from 120 decibels to 90. Another, with 188,000 signatures, calls for firework sales to be limited to those running council-approved events, similar to Scottish law. This will be the seventh time MPs have debated the issue, and the first since December 2024.