18 December 2024

Calling all horse owners!

Redwings is launching a new survey to find out how fireworks impact horses and their owners.

We are asking people who are over 16, live in the UK and have at least one horse, pony, donkey or mule in their direct care, to fill in the survey ahead of a meeting with the Government in the New Year.

The link to the survey, which takes approximately six minutes to complete, and is anonymous, is here. The survey will close on 19th January 2025.

Earlier this year we launched our ‘Keep Horses In Mind’ campaign to encourage people to consider if and how they use fireworks, particularly with the increasing availability of low-noise options.

The second reading of Sarah Owen MP’s private members bill which seeks to update current fireworks legislation takes place on 17th January, and a meeting of representatives from the Fireworks Working Group – a coalition of both people and animal welfare-focussed charities, including Redwings – is taking place with Minister Justin Madders, Parliamentary Under-secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade in February.

Redwings’ Campaigns and Policy Manager Helen Whitelegg said: “We know data is so important to these discussions, so we’re asking as many horse owners as possible to complete this important new survey.

“We want to hear from people with as wide a variety of experience and opinions on the subject as possible, so that robust and representative insights can be collected and shared with parliamentarians, policy makers and others.”

Read more about our work on fireworks here.