Dog lovers demand ban on firework parties as it upsets their pets

Dog lovers are demanding the Government restrict the use of fireworks due to the distress it causes their pooches.

An RSPCA-backed petition is calling for fireworks displays to be banned on all but four days a year and has been signed by over 100,000 people.

The charity says it has received almost 1,500 calls from worried owners in the past five years reporting how unnerved their dogs had become.

The calls have increased by more than 50 per cent during the same period, from 255 in 2011 to 386 last year.

The petition will be debated by MPs on June 6.

It suggests that private fireworks displays should only be allowed on four days of special religious or cultural significance: November 5, New Year's Eve, Chinese New Year and Diwali.

Under current rules, fireworks cannot be set off from 11pm to 7am except for Bonfire Night, when the cut-off time is midnight, and New Year’s Eve, Diwali and Chinese new year, when the cut-off is 1am.