The AFU and Urban Legend Archive
Animals
 halloween cat adoption




From: dannyb@panix.com (danny burstein)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: cite: animal shelter blocking Halloween cat adoptions
Date: 18 Oct 1997 10:42:38 -0400

(begging forgiveness for a copyrighted dupe...)

(I've added a few comments at the end)

Shelters Ban Halloween Cat Adoption
17-Oct-1997

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Play all the tricks you want on Halloween, just keep black cats out of the line of fire.

Like humane societies and animal shelters across the nation, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles will ban adoptions of black cats between Oct. 18 through Oct. 31 at its two shelters in Los Angeles and Hawthorne. [1]

"Because some people consider them good luck or bad luck, things tend to happen to them by pranksters on Halloween," said Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles. [2]

The Halloween ban has been in place for a number of years in order to prevent adoptions that have ulterior motives, Bernstein said.

"We don't want any of our adoptions to be insincere," she said.

AP-NY-10-17-97 0300EDT

[1] since most shelters, alas, are way too crowded, they tend to have fairly short periods before the residents are killed off. (I'm _NOT_ blaming them for this; it's a messy scene that does not have easy answers)

So I have to ask what's happening to these animals who are not being adopted out. (or, similarly, to their next door neighbors)

[2] She doesn't list any cases, although, to be fair to her, it's just a couple of quick quoutes.

--

Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key

dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]


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