Animal Experts Say 'No' to Pet Halloween Costumes
While Halloween is believed to have begun as a Celtic festival, these days it's a time for dressing up in costumes — and that includes pets, too!
We may see it more often now on social media, but people have been dressing up their pets in Halloween costumes for a long time. The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade in New York, for example, has been going on for over 30 years!
But according to animal experts, your pets might not enjoy dressing up in costumes as much as you do.
Justine Shotton from the British Veterinary Association says that while some pets "put up" with wearing costumes, they might find it stressful or uncomfortable.
And although pet clothes can be useful when it's cold or if the animal needs to stop licking a wound, Shotton says Halloween costumes can make pets stressed or hot.
They can be especially uncomfortable for animals like pugs and French bulldogs, which already find it difficult to breathe because of their flat faces.
"Our pets already have lovely coats which look great and keep them the perfect temperature, so they really don't need to be dressed up in costumes," Shotton said to BBC Newsround.
You can still let your pets join in on the Halloween fun without making them wear costumes, however.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a British animal charity, says you can make pumpkin dog cookies, or draw Halloween pictures on a box for your cat to sleep in, for example.
