Help us end the private sale of fireworks!
Let’s get to 5,000!
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Join us in calling on Parliament to end the private sale and use of fireworks. Add your name to our open letter and stand with SPCA and our partners in calling for change. The more people who sign, the stronger our collective voice for animals.
Dear Members of the 55th Parliament,
Is our fun worth their fear?
Every year, thousands of animals across New Zealand experience fear, distress and injury due to the private sale and use of fireworks.
Animals can panic, flee, become lost, injure themselves, or suffer fear and lasting anxiety when fireworks are used. For wildlife, fireworks during nesting season can cause birds to abandon nests, leaving eggs and chicks vulnerable. Fireworks also contribute to preventable wildfires, creating further risks for animals, people, property and the environment. These harms are predictable, preventable, and well understood – but they happen every year, because the private sale and use of fireworks is still allowed.
Recently, Parliament’s Petitions Committee recommended ending the private sale and use of fireworks while retaining professionally managed public displays. This recommendation followed petitions signed by more than 95,000 New Zealanders calling for change. But the Government chose not to act on this recommendation. The concerns that were raised are still unresolved – and as a result, animals will continue to experience the same preventable harms year after year.
As you begin your term in the 55th Parliament, we are asking you to revisit this issue and take action to protect our pets, farm animals, wildlife and communities.
Together, we can create a future where New Zealanders continue to enjoy fireworks while animals and communities are kept safe. Professionally managed, notified public displays offer a safer, more considerate way for communities to celebrate together.
We ask that you end the private sale and use of fireworks in New Zealand.
We urge the 55th Parliament to show leadership on this issue, and ask you to create a future where New Zealanders can continue to celebrate without causing harm to animals.
Because our fun isn’t worth their fear.
Signed by SPCA, NZVA Companion Animal Veterinarians (CAV), New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA), Companion Animals New Zealand (CANZ) and concerned New Zealanders