Edinburgh Councilors have voted to introduce temporary restrictions in Niddrie, Balerno, Seafield and Calton Hill, following serious disorder in the Niddrie area last year and support for a ban from community groups and animal welfare charities.

The control zones will run from 1-10 November 2024. Anyone setting off a private firework during this period will be committing a criminal offence.

The Scottish government gave local authorities the power to designate firework control zones (FCSs) in 2022 following a major riot in Dundee. Establishing FCZs is a “key milestone in the journey towards a cultural change in Scotland’s relationship with fireworks”.

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In Other News:

The Pet Abduction Act 2024 came into effect on 24/08/2024. This Act recognises that cats and dogs are sentient beings capable of experiencing distress and other trauma. Now that the distress of animals is recognised in law you can use this when contacting your own MP about fireworks https://www.writetothem.com. Many more sentient beings (our pets) are traumatised by the use of fireworks every year. If our pets now have legislation to bring the full weight of the law to prosecute theft trauma surely the playing field should be level and fireworks prosecution should not rely solely on the Animal Welfare Act 2006.