A Catalan town bans the adoption of black cats during Halloween

The Spanish city of Terrassa in northeastern Catalonia has temporarily banned the adoption of black cats from animal shelters to prevent potentially spooky “rituals” during Halloween.

All requests to foster or adopt cats will be rejected from Oct. 6 to Nov. 10 to protect them from being harmed or used as props, the local animal welfare office said.

Deputy mayor Noel Duque told broadcaster RTVE that requests to adopt black cats usually increase around Halloween.

While black cats are often associated with witchcraft and seen as bad luck in Western culture, many other cultures, including Japan and Egypt, see them as symbols of prosperity and wealth.

Terrace City Council said there were no reports of cruelty to black cats in the city, but there had been incidents in other areas and the decision came after warnings from animal welfare groups.

“We’re trying to prevent people from adopting because it’s trendy or impulsive. And in cases like these that we know exist, to prevent sinister practices,” Duque said.

Terrassa is home to more than 9,800 cats, according to local authorities, and the city’s adoption center houses about 100 cats, 12 of which are black, the Catalan news agency reported.

The city council stressed that the measure was “temporary and exceptional” and was an additional safeguard for animal welfare, but did not rule out the ban being repeated in the future.

Exceptions during the blackout period will be evaluated on an individual basis by the adoption center and regular foster parent applications will resume after Halloween.