Happy Halloween, John!

Every day is a good day to help animals, and today, for Halloween, I want to share three things you should know so you can speak up effectively for animals.

1. Our attitudes towards black cats are rooted in superstition and speciesism. In Western folklore, black cats have been seen as an omen of evil or misfortune. This superstition persists long past Halloween, and it’s a big part of the reason that black cats are less likely to be adopted from shelters and find homes. Around Halloween, some shelters even restrict their black cat adoptions to prevent people from using the cats as living decorations and then abandoning them after. 

2. Your treat just might be a trick: There’s animal abuse hidden in many Halloween candies.  When kids eat milk chocolate, they don’t realize that the milk was stolen from mother cows who were prevented from feeding their babies. Similarly, most trick-or-treaters don’t know that candies with confectioner’s glaze contain insect secretions. And gummy candies often have gelatin, which is made from boiling dead animal bits. (Watch this video to learn more about gelatin.)

3. You can take advantage of Halloween to take action for animals! If you expect a lot of people to be walking by your house, it’s a great opportunity to put up some animal rights messages! You can make a quick hand-drawn sign with a message like “Join the animal rights movement” and stick it in your window or yard. Leave some leaflets by it if you have them. You can also use a creative costume to make a statement about animal rights. And of course, you can offer to show people something scarier than any haunted house… the inside of a factory farm. You can use this 360-degree video from a DxE investigation at a Smithfield pig farm. 

Thanks for speaking up for animals!

Cassie