RSPCA Kind Sparks campaign toolkit
Welcome to the RSPCA Kind Sparks campaign toolkit. This fireworks season our campaign aims to encourage communities to think about their neighbours and the animals they love. We know that neighbours can hold conflicting views – loving fireworks yet understanding the harm they can do to animals (and the people who love them). So we want to encourage people to talk to their neighbours, whether in person or via platforms like NextDoor, before using fireworks at home, and to consider alternatives such as low-noise fireworks or visiting an organised display.
We want everyone to make one change this year. By opening up the conversation, we hope to foster positive neighbourly relations and protect animals.
This toolkit contains our key messages, plus background information, key facts and stats, and suggested social media assets and hashtags, which you can use this fireworks season.
This is the fifth year of our toolkit, and it’s our aim to build on its contents so it will continue to be a useful resource for local MPs looking to share animal-welfare-related information, advice and links during fireworks season.
At the RSPCA our focus is on inspiring everyone to create a better world for every animal. Our new brand purpose was unveiled last year: For Every Kind. That means for every kind of animal, whether it’s helping thousands through our vital rescue work, or helping millions more through our advocacy, prevention and education work, both here and around the world. But it also means for every kind of person, whoever they are, because we need everyone to get involved in animal welfare.
What this kit contains
- Key facts, polling and stats to help you with local communications.
- Social media assets that can be shared on your social media platforms to raise awareness in your constituency of the campaign and key messaging.
- Suggested social media copy to accompany the assets, which can be personalised to your constituency to raise awareness of the impact fireworks can have on neighbours and animals.
What the campaign is calling for:
Our Kind Sparks campaign is a force for community cohesion that seeks to bring people together to be kinder during fireworks season: to each other and to the animals who surround them. We’re encouraging everyone to personally make one change to ‘help quieten the noise’ and to write to their local MP to encourage more action on fireworks.
Campaign objectives
- 1 To remind people across the fireworks season about the impact of fireworks on wildlife, livestock and pets, as well as on pet owners.
- 2 To share best practices
- 3 To reinforce the RSPCA’s work to seek regulatory/legislative change for the sale and use of fireworks.
- 4 To motivate people who buy and use fireworks to do something differently when they celebrate, so that animals are protected.
- 5 To acknowledge the reality that lots of people enjoy the fun and festivity of fireworks, while motivating them to take action to protect animals from the impact.
We can achieve this by
- Sharing the assets among your local networks and across social media platforms and websites to inform your constituents.
- Utilising key messages and suggested social post copy that outlines the implications of and dangers associated with fireworks, across social media platforms and websites. A collaborative approach will maximise reach for our messages and campaign assets.
Key messages
- Fireworks cause stress and anxiety in animals. But it’s not just animals who struggle during the season – there can be a very real cost for humans too.
- Encourage the public to make one change this season, for example, attending organised public displays wherever possible.
- Alert neighbours if you’re having a display at home.
- Stick to the traditional dates (Diwali, Bonfire Night, New Year’s Eve and Lunar New Year) to help eliminate surprise.
- Encourage the public to use either low-noise fireworks or have a silent display (e.g. with glow sticks or LED lanterns).
Why change is needed
Personal stories behind the Fireworks Campaign
To better understand why this issue matters – and the impact it has on both people and animals – watch this short video featuring Dagmara and Clare, who share their personal experiences of how fireworks affect their lives and their animals. Their stories illustrate the real-world consequences behind our campaign and why change is so urgently needed.
Timeline
Key calendar dates 2025/2026:
Main campaign launch 17th October 2025: please do not post any content ahead of this date
Halloween: Friday 31st October 2025
Diwali: Mon 20th October 2025
Bonfire Night: Wednesday 5th November 2025
New Year’s Celebrations: Wednesday 31st December 2025 – Sarurday 3rd January 2026
Lunar New Year: Tuesday 17th February 2026
Materials to Help Quieten The Noise
Social media
We’ve provided social media assets and pre-drafted posts that can be shared to raise awareness in your constituency. These are based on either practical tips for residents or real-life case studies. We aim to help the public understand the true impact that fireworks season and popular events can have on households, pets, wildlife, livestock, and people.
Suggested hashtags
- #KindSparks
- #RSPCAKindSparks
- #BeAKindSpark
- #BonfireNight
- #Fireworks
- #HelpQuietenTheNoise
Briefings
In addition, we have included a briefing specifically for MPs and councils. This provides key information, local context, and suggested actions to support your role in raising awareness and protecting your constituents during this period.
Communications pack
We have also included additional resources to support communication in your local area. These include posters, leaflets, and an infographic, all designed to make it easier to share key messages with residents and raise awareness about the impact of fireworks and popular events on households, pets, wildlife, livestock, and people.
Did you find this useful?
We hope you find this pack useful and would welcome your feedback on its usability and contents, including hearing any suggestions your council or organisation may have for additional content.
Data sources:
- Social Market Foundation: Out with the bang
- Research carried out by 3Gem on behalf of the RSPCA, surveying a nationally representative sample of 2,500 UK adults. The research was carried out between 8 and 16 July 2024.
- Polling carried out by Savanta, an independent research agency, surveying 2,065 UK adults online to explore pet ownership, fireworks use, and community attitudes. Weighted to reflect the UK population, the research gives the RSPCA clear, evidence-based insights into how fireworks affect animals, households, and neighbourhoods.
- RSPCA Animal Kindness Index: the annual Animal Kindness Index is produced by the RSPCA, Scottish SPCA and Ulster SPCA and includes the results of a survey commissioned to find out which values people hold when it comes to animal welfare.
