'They sound like explosions to them' - Fireworks should be restricted to one night only says pet detective

Pets are already spooked as fireworks hit the shelves, with suggestions that their sale should be restricted to prevent animals from harm.

Pet detective Megan Denzie, who works to locate lost pets, isn't an advocate for an all out ban on fireworks, but thinks letting them off should be restricted to just one night. 

"What we can't cope with is fireworks going off for weeks on end," she said on TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning. 

It comes after the New Zealand Veterinary Association called for a ban on the private sale and use of fireworks to improve the welfare of animals.

"Animals have an incredible sense of hearing, far better than what we have," Ms Denzie said. 

"A lot will be quite reactive, they will panic.

"The sounds that we hear sounds like just bangs to us, but they sound like explosions to them."

She said the best thing was to sit with hiding pets, talk calmly and give them a pat, and to close windows, curtains and all doors in the house to help "deaden the noise".