Hello and happy Halloween! As a child this was one of my favorite holidays because I loved dressing up as much as I loved candy. It was fun to make a costume and become someone, or something else for a few hours. Did you have a favorite Halloween costume?
In previous years on this day, I have written about spiders, and bats, trying to dispel some of the myths surrounding them. This year I thought I would do something a bit different, including multiple topics in my Halloween post. And just so it’s not all “gloom and doom,” each point offers some way you can TAKE ACTION, and make a difference, because as you know, we all need HOPE. Each of us has the power– every single day– to make a difference. We vote everyday with our choices. How will you vote?
12 Scary Facts for Halloween:
1. Berries laced with cyanide…Heavenly Bamboo…not so heavenly. The beautiful bright red berries of the very common and popular landscape bush called Heavenly bamboo, or nandina (Nandina domestica) can KILL birds that feed on them. There have been a few instances of cedar waxwings dying from consuming these berries. Audubon says the berries contain, “cyanide and other alkaloids that produce highly toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) which is extremely poisonous to all animals. Sudden death may be the only sign of cyanide poisoning and death usually comes in minutes to an hour.”
ACTION: Don’t choose nandina, and if you have it, rip it out and replace it with Clethra, Itea, American Beautyberry, Holly, or other native shrubs.
2. Four-legged murderers. Did you know cats in the United States kill between 1.4- 3.7 BILLION birds each year, along with 6.9- 20.7 billion small animals like frogs, lizards, butterflies and chipmunks. Even well-fed, and well-loved cats that we love like our kids, kill animals if they are allowed to roam free outside. You may not see the deaths, but rest assured, your cat is just like every other cat. It’s just in their nature to kill.
ACTION: If you have a cat and want to make a difference, think about leash-training your cat so you can take him/her for walks instead of allowing them to roam free. Or create a catio (screened in outdoor space) for your cat.
3. Death by bleeding from the inside out. You know those blue or black boxes people use to kill rats, mice and other rodents? They can also kill owls, hawks, coyotes, fox and even your own dog because these animals higher up on the food chain often feed on smaller animals like rats and mice who have eaten the poison. These animals often die a slow and horrifying death, essentially bleeding to death from the inside out. Can you imagine a worse fate?
ACTION: Use live traps instead, and then re-locate these animals far from your house.
4. Disappearing Birds. There are 33% fewer birds now than there were 50 years ago. Reasons include pesticides, insect decline, cats, less habitat, window collisions, and outdoor lights left on at night.
ACTION: If you want to make a difference, turn your outdoor lights off at night, stop using pesticides, plant native flowers, shrubs, grasses and trees, and keep your cats indoors.
5. Dying Dogs. Dogs exposed to lawn chemicals can have a 7 times greater risk of developing cancer. Dogs that “chin surf” like boxers are especially susceptible. Homeowners use up to ten times more pesticides per acre in their lawns than farmers use on their crops.
ACTION: Shrinking your lawn is good for the Earth, and for the animals who share our spaces with us, like butterflies and bees. Don’t pay money for a “perfect” lawn! Instead shrink your lawn, or just allow violets, dandelions, and other “weeds.” Let’s learn to tolerate imperfection, to embrace change, and to think of animals sharing the earth instead of just ourselves.
6. A life of confinement. Whales and dolphins are living in horrendous conditions at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Canada, and other similar places. Since 2020 more than 17 whales and dolphins have died–truly a “hell on earth” situation for these intelligent animals. Whales seem to be slowing dying, thought to be starving themselves out of boredom and sadness. These animals are not meant to be in captivity and not free to roam the oceans. Did you know whales can live 80 or even 100 years?? Or that they might travel 100 miles each day? Imagine what their life is like in a small pool of water for their entire lives!
ACTION: If you love animals, stop going to aquariums and marine parks, and spending money to support this torture! You vote regularly with the choices you make and the places, people, and products you pay to support. See them in the wild, or don’t see them at all!
7. Chopped up into millions of pieces, or suffocated in plastic bags. When people remove all of the fallen leaves, or chop them up, they are killing countless animals who REQUIRE leaf litter for part of their lifecycle, including frogs, fireflies, moths, bumblebees, caterpillars, and butterflies. Birds who eat those small critters also suffer from the loss of food sources during winter.
ACTION: Don’t rake your leaves this fall! Or rake them up and put them in a designated “wild” area. Don’t chop them up or bag them up! Instead, leave the leaves where they fall.
8. Chopped up while still alive on the VERY FIRST DAY of their lives. Most people have no idea that every year 300 million baby chickens are killed on the first day of their lives. Know why? Because they’re male and the egg industry considers them useless. Most are sent down giant industrial maceraters–chopping them up while they are still alive! This practice happens because people want to consume eggs. If you raise chickens for their eggs, this is what you’re contributing to! In countries where giant industrial maceraters aren’t available, people kill the day-old chicks by putting them in plastic bags to suffocate them, or even putting them in gas chambers. No matter how they are killed, we have to ask ourselves, what did these innocent chicks do to deserve this fate?
ACTION: Stop eating eggs. By consuming eggs, you continue to support this cruel practice.
9. Trapped, tortured and sent around the world. “Take a moment to imagine this. A baby parrot, cockatiels, parakeets, or canary travels thousands of miles with its beak and feet taped together, trapped in a tube. Tiny turtles cross oceans stuffed into socks with tape over their shells to prevent their heads from emerging. And, pygmy monkeys endure hours, if not days, wrapped up in underwear in an illegal trader’s suitcase. You just wouldn’t wish this kind of trauma on a sentient being. And yet, this is the tragic reality of the exotic animal trade.” (Safe Worldwide.org) Did you know wanting and paying for an “exotic” pet like a parrot, snake or lizard is driving this illegal animal trade, threatening biodiversity and accelerating extinction? There are more than 40 million pet parrots in the United States alone.
ACTION: We can all make a difference if we just say no to owning exotic pets like parrots, cockatoos, snakes, lizards, turtles, and other animals. Leave these animals where they belong– in the wild!
10. Horrors suffered for a glass of milk.. rape, enslavement, forced milking, torture, stolen babies, infanticide, slaughter… Did you know female cows only produce milk for a short period of time, after they give birth? Their milk is rich in nutrients designed to make their babies grow, the same way all other mammals (including humans!) produce milk. Did you know that humans are the only species on the Planet that drinks milk from another animal? Or that cow’s milk does not “do a body good,” as they have lead us to believe? After carrying their babies for nine months, mama cows give birth. Usually within 24 hours their babies are forcibly taken from them so humans can steal her milk, hooking her up to machines several times per day to do this. Male babies are either killed soon after (as they are “useless” to the industry, shot in the head with a bolt gun,) or sent to veal farms where they will be raised in small huts, not allowed to roam free, know their Mothers, or even interact with other calves. If you consume milk or products made from milk, you support this cruelty industry! Milk is taken from mama cows for 6 -9 months, and then, when it begins to run out, they are forcibly made pregnant again. This cycle repeats itself 4 or 5 times until they are considered “spent” at which point they are sent to slaughter.
Imagine having your baby stolen from you EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU GIVE BIRTH, and never getting to know your baby or give him or her love. Could there be a worse fate?
ACTION: You have the power everyday to make a difference with your choices. You vote at least 3 times every day (at meal times) for the world you want to live in. There are many alternatives to cow’s milk. Every product made with cow’s milk supports this cruelty. Are you against animal cruelty or not?
11. Drugged, caged, abused animals. According to World Animal Protection.org, 3 out of 4 wildlife tourist attractions involve some form of animal abuse or conservation concerns, and up to 550,000 wild animals are suffering in these venues. Lion cubs separated from their mothers to be raised so people can touch them. Elephants taken from their families and used for photos or for people to ride on. Many are drugged, beaten, often kept in horrendous conditions when the public is not looking.
ACTION: When traveling, please don’t support these practices. That means not taking selfies with animals, or animal babies, not paying to sit on, or ride elephants, camels, or other animals, not paying to feed or pet the animals, not supporting animals playing tricks for you, etc. Bears, elephants, tigers and other animals are not here for the entertainment of people and live terrible, tortured lives in captivity. Tourist attention and dollars keep these terrible practices going.
12. Animal agriculture is accelerating global deforestation.
An ACRE of rainforest is cut down every 6 seconds– nearly 14,000 acres EVERY SINGLE DAY! Know what this land is used for? Cattle ranching, or growing soy to feed cattle.
We humans seem to value our right to eat whatever we want. But at what cost? This attitude has contributed to habits of consumption that are destructive to our planet, ourselves, and to our fellow earthlings– both the wild animals, as well as those animals we raise solely so we can consume them.
According to the World Bank, “cattle ranching has fueled over 80% of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon since 1970.” According to Earth.org, “Often referred to as the “Lungs of the Earth,” the rainforest covers 3.4 million square miles of South America and is responsible for 20% of the world’s oxygen production. Spanning nine countries – Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French Guiana – the Amazon hosts an astonishing array of life, boasting over 40,000 species of plants, 3,000 species of fish, 1,300 species of birds, 430 species of mammals, and 2.5 million species of insects. Beyond its role as a sanctuary for diverse flora and fauna, the Amazon serves a critical role in mitigating climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in plant matter in the soil.”
ACTION: Eat less meat from animals, or better yet, don’t eat any products from animals including milk. Science clearly has shown that the “most impactful way to reduce your impact on Planet Earth is to adopt a vegan diet…it is far bigger than cutting down on your flights, or buying an electric car.”
Thanks for reading! Have a safe and happy Halloween.
I am so proud of you for opening our eyes to the things we have taken for granted. I never realized what I was supporting. I was awful but only because I was ignorant. I have stopped eating meat and dairy and I dont go to zoos and aquariums. We all need to do our part to save the planet and to learn to share it with the animals
Thank you. I think none of us realize what we are supporting, because we’ve all been brainwashed, since we were kids. But once our eyes are opened and we learn these things, it’s impossible to go back, impossible to unsee or unknow them. Thanks for being on this journey with me– you make me a better human everyday.