Published • loading... • Updated
Shelters keep pausing black cat adoptions before Halloween despite no proof of danger
Shelters say the temporary holds help prevent impulsive October adoptions and possible post-Halloween abandonment, even as researchers find little evidence of added risk.
- Across several states, shelters are pulling black cats from adoption lists around Halloween, though none has publicly produced evidence the animals face danger.
- Staff at these facilities cite concerns that black cats could be exploited or abandoned after the holiday, with each shelter framing the policy as a necessary precaution.
- The ASPCA stopped recommending these bans more than two decades ago, finding no real evidence of risk; a 2013 analysis of 14 communities found black cats made up 31% of adoptions, close to 33% of intake.
- Francis Battista, co-founder of Best Friends Animal Society, argues that pulling black cats from adoption 'doesn't make sense', even as Almost Home Canine Rescue in Sioux Falls continues the practice before this year's Halloween.
- In Thailand and the United Kingdom, black cats are considered good luck, and sailors historically kept them aboard ships trusting the animals would guarantee safe voyages, suggesting cultural superstition rather than documented risk drives these policies.
Insights by Ground AI
12 Articles
12 Articles
Shelters keep pausing black cat adoptions before Halloween despite no proof of danger
Animal shelters across several states, and even overseas, pull black cats off their adoption lists around Halloween, bracing for a danger they have not broadly ... Read moreThe post Shelters keep pausing black cat adoptions before Halloween despite no proof…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources12
Leaning Left1Leaning Right5Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
C 50%
R 42%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
