Up Your ‘Hex’ Appeal: 6 Halloween Dates That Aren’t Cruel to Animals
Halloween is all about the scares, but your hot date shouldn’t be a frightening affair for animals. After all, only monsters are cruel to animals. Whether it’s a first date with a mysterious stranger or a night out with a flame as old as time, these wicked ideas are full of hex appeal while being animal-friendly.
Take a Haunted Forest Walk Instead of a Horse-Drawn Hayride
Skip the horse-drawn hayride and head into the woods for a twilight walk—bonus points if it’s a haunted trail or a graveyard. Picture yourself hearing the leaves crunch beneath your feet, letting the crisp fall air fill your lungs, and maybe holding hands if you see a creepy shadow—any excuse to get closer!
A haunted forest walk beats a horse-drawn hayride any day. Horses are intelligent, emotional beings who deserve to be free and respected, not exploited—yet their well-being is sacrificed for human profit when they’re used for entertainment. Many horses forced to pull carriages have been observed living in squalid conditions with inadequate food and veterinary care.
Carve Pumpkins and Drink Apple Cider Instead of Going to a Petting Zoo
Stay home, carve pumpkins together, and let your creativity run as wild as a banshee. Want to impress your boo? Get fancy with a free PETA pumpkin carving stencil. But remember to be kind to wildlife by never bleaching your pumpkins. When you don’t preserve pumpkins with chemicals, they can be a nice snack for hungry animals in your neighborhood. Afterward, snuggle up with mugs of vegan mulled apple cider and toast some Dandies or another brand of vegan marshmallows.
Some pumpkin patches offer petting zoos during the fall. But beware: Petting zoos have sickened visitors, as they’re hotbeds for serious pathogens, including E. coli and salmonella. E. coli can cause bloody diarrhea, anemia, or neurological impairments such as seizures and strokes. Plus, animals deserve to be respected, not touched by strangers.
Host an Outdoor Movie Marathon Instead of Visiting a Roadside Zoo
Some roadside zoos attempt to draw customers with Halloween-themed events, but there’s nothing festive about animals confined to cages. Host an outdoor horror movie night instead. Grab a projector, bundle up in blankets with your boo, and stream your favorite slasher flicks under the stars. Don’t forget the vegan popcorn. If you’re lucky, you may hear an owl or spot a bat.
Animals in roadside zoos are often confined to small, dirty, barren enclosures. This environment can’t come close to providing the freedom that animals want and need. This deprivation—along with relentless monotony, solitude, and sometimes even cruelty at the hands of their captors—causes many animals to lose their minds.
Go to an Escape Room or a Haunted House Instead of a Rodeo
Want to raise your heart rate without forcing animals into rings? An escape room is the perfect idea. Whether you’re trapped in a “mad scientist’s laboratory” or fleeing from “zombies,” you’ll need teamwork and trust to make it out alive. Nothing brings two people closer than working together. Or—if you dare—many actors would love to scare you and your date at a local haunted house. (Make sure it doesn’t feature live animals!)
If you want to be a cowboy, you can dress up as one for Halloween. In rodeos, countless animals have paid with their lives to satisfy humans’ desire to play cowboys in events such as calf roping, bull riding, steer wrestling, and bronc riding. That’s why you should never support rodeos during the fall or at any time of the year.
Take a Ghost Tour Instead of a Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride
Forget horse-drawn carriages—you don’t need overworked horses to set the mood. There’s something beautifully eerie about a moonlit stroll through an old town or a cemetery. Visit a historically significant site, bring LED candles or flashlights for a romantic glow, and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. Some companies offer walking ghost tours, bus tours, or pub crawls. Any of these would make for an entertaining evening.
Forcing horses to pull heavy loads like carriages is cruel. These horses are compelled to work in all weather extremes, dodge traffic, and pound the pavement day after day. Many acquire respiratory ailments when they breathe in exhaust fumes and suffer devastating leg problems from walking on hard surfaces.
Have Dinner at a Vegan Restaurant or a ‘Witch’s Feast’ at Home
No Halloween date is complete without a delicious meal. Ditch the steakhouse and head to a local vegan restaurant for a wickedly good feast. Or prepare a “witch’s feast” at home: Try a hearty dish like this vegan black bean pasta from Vegan Dollhouse and vampire-deterrent vegan garlic bread. Check out our creepy and cute vegan Halloween recipes, vegan Halloween candy, vegan goth foods, and holiday drinks.
Remember, only monsters eat flesh. Going vegan spares animals the hellish experience of slaughterhouses, where petrified, screaming animals are hacked to death on filthy floors covered with blood. Every vegan saves up to 200 animals per year.
Compassion is sexy. So light a jack-o’-lantern, wear your favorite sweater, and try one of these animal-friendly ideas to enchant your date this Halloween.
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