Clever Animal Rights Costumes for the Scariest Halloween

Halloween is all about enjoying your favorite vegan candy and dressing to impress in the coolest costume at the party. Whether it’s witty past hits like Harry Styles as a “Champion for Chickens,” Joe Exotic as a “Tiger Killer,” or our ever-fresh “Lettuce Lady,” we know how to put together animal rights costumes. Help end speciesism by checking out the following frightful and delightful costume ideas for inspiration:

1. A French bulldog breeder

What makes this costume so terrifying? The fact that French bulldog breeders sexually exploit these dogs, collecting bags of semen to artificially inseminate them, since they often can’t mate naturally due to the size of their hips. Your creepy costume will remind everyone about the true cost of buying a “Frenchie” or any other breathing-impaired breed. It will send the message to always adopt and never shop.

2. Pete Davidson cursing PETA

Nothing helped spread the word about the importance of “adopt, don’t shop” more than Pete Davidson’s expletive-ridden voicemail to PETA earlier this year after he purchased a puppy from a pet store. Our limited-edition Pete Davidson costume is available for presale at the PETA Shop, and all proceeds go toward our work to reduce the homeless-dog crisis.

This tongue-in-cheek costume draws attention to the companion animal overpopulation and homelessness crises. PETA encourages Pete and everyone who loves dogs always to “adopt, never shop” while animal shelters and rescue groups need your help.

3. A standing sun bear

Can you bear this wonderful Halloween outfit? We hope it will at least give you paws. This costume draws inspiration from a controversial viral video that shows Angela the Malayan sun bear standing and waving at tourists in a Chinese zoo while some speculated (wrongly, it turns out) that the animal was a human in a bear costume. Throw this on to spread the message of why people should respect the right of Angela and other animals never to be forced to perform in circuses or be held captive in deplorable roadside zoos. As an actual human in a bear costume, you can draw attention to the suffering of bears in circuses—for whom being trained to stand upright is no treat.

4. “Lettuce Lady” Barbie (bring your own Barbie doll with matching accessories)

Lettuce get dressed up to help animals. And turn your Barbie doll into an animal rights activist with a “Lettuce Lady” dress that will make all her friends green with envy. PETA’s real-life “Lettuce Ladies” greet people around the world, spreading the message that everyone who goes vegan spares the lives of nearly 200 animals a year. Join them this Halloween by helping folks turn over a new leaf by encouraging them to be kind to animals.

5. A hunk of bloody meat

Every animal is a living, feeling individual who deserves consideration and respect. Humans should never exploit and kill animals for food. To make a haunting statement about this, take a cue from these PETA staffers and go to a Halloween party as a bloody slab of meat—since there’s no difference between our bodies and theirs.

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Download and Print to Make Your Own Meat Tray Costume

6. Declawed cat

Talk about scary. Declawing a cat is literally hacking off the last bone of each of Fluffy’s toes. That’s the kind of stuff that nightmares are made of. Let people know how gruesome this procedure is by “bloodying” and bandaging up your own hands.

7. Creepy Colonel Sanders

You remember this guy. He’s the mascot for KFC, the fast-food giant whose own animal-welfare advisers have resigned in frustration over the company’s refusal to change its evil practices. You may as well go ahead and throw some horns on him, too!

8. Wretched Ronald McDonald

This sicko plays cute to the kiddos, but behind the scenes, he’s responsible for the largest mass murder of chickens ever. Every day, slaughterhouse workers slit the throats of thousands of birds and toss the animals into a tank of boiling water, often while they’re still conscious. Wretched Ronald may love it, but we’re hatin’ it.

9. Injured circus trainer

Animals who are repeatedly forced to perform stupid tricks attack circus employees. Why? Because the animals are confined and exploited. The big top is no place for a majestic elephant or a regal tiger. Splash your neck with fake blood and show coworkers that animals should never be used for human entertainment.

10. Donald Trump Jr. hunting

This clever costume is a variation on the infamous trophy-hunting photo that showed the insecure Trump brothers grinning smugly over a dead leopard’s body after shooting him while he was minding his own business. Raise awareness by wearing this repulsive “half-cocked” look.

11. Whose skin are you in?

You may recall seeing reptilian folks slithering around outside New York Fashion Week. They weren’t there just to model. They had a message for designers: Keep animal skins out of your wardrobe. With a homemade sign and some carefully applied cruelty-free bodypaint, you can show some of your own skin and make the same statement.

12. Rabbit with a “lucky” human foot

Ready for a disturbing but effective role reversal? Dress as a rabbit and carry around a “lucky” human foot for a change—to inspire change! Hopping around Halloween events in this shocking costume may be the best way to wake up your friends to speciesist habits that are deadly for rabbits.

Whether you’ll be at a Halloween party with tons of people or staying in for a casual night with friends, these costumes offer a great way to get the animal rights conversation started.

Vegan Halloween Candy

Note: BARBIE is a registered trademark of Mattel Inc., which is not affiliated or connected with and does not necessarily approve of, endorse, sponsor, or otherwise support PETA or PETA’s unofficial doll accessories.