Firework-related fear causes acute suffering in millions of pets each year and is a preventable welfare problem with a range of effective management and desensitization approaches.
Firework-related fear is a highly prevalent, acutely distressing, and largely preventable welfare problem for companion animals. The acute terror response — trembling, fleeing, hiding, self-injury — represents genuine suffering that recurs predictably around calendar events. Long-term consequences include noise sensitivity that broadens to other sounds. The range of interventions is well-evidenced: behavioral desensitization before firework season, environmental management during events, and veterinary anxiolytic medication for severe cases. Public campaigns normalizing pet medication for firework fear have increased uptake of effective interventions.