Rules surrounding the sale of fireworks to the general public are to be put under review in Scotland.
A new review group, chaired by former Fire Service chief Alasdair Hay, will explore legislative changes which could be applied to the public sale of the explosives and the impact they have on emergency services and animal welfare.
The group will also consider changes to the times at which fireworks can be set off and look at options around the potential introduction of no-fireworks zones.
Community Safety Minister Ash Denham said: “Our fireworks review group will now consider how best to use the powers at our disposal to drive forward action to reduce the damage caused by fireworks misuse.
“We want to ensure that every community is able to enjoy fireworks without fear of their inappropriate use and I look forward to working closely with communities, key partners and the fireworks industry to achieve this.”
Gilly Mendes Ferreira, Scottish SPCA head of education and policy, said: “For years we have supported tighter restrictions on public use due to the stress and anxiety caused to animals.
“Most calls report animals being injured trying to escape the noise of fireworks, including dogs running onto roads and being hit by oncoming traffic, swans flying into electricity pylons and horses being badly hurt after running through barbed wire fences.
“We will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government to improve animal welfare surrounding the use of fireworks.”
North East Conservative MSP Bill Bowman said: “The Scottish Government should do more to make sure the relevant advice on animal welfare is made available in places selling fireworks.
The consultation on fireworks ran for 14 weeks and 16,420 responses were received.
It found that 94% of respondents wanted to see tighter controls on the sale of fireworks and 93% backed stronger regulations to ensure animals are not caused unnecessary suffering as a result of fireworks misuse.
