ARC has been busy getting humane education materials into the hands of teachers. In addition to our booth at the Education Minnesota Professional Conference, ARC offered Cruelty Free Circus Action Project packs to K-3 teachers.

The kits contained a lesson plan, student worksheets, and stickers, and they were snapped up quickly by educators eager to teach compassion for animals. We also sent middle school science teachers Frog Fact Files which are colorful kits filled with frog fact sheets covering topics ranging from alternatives to dissection to the lifecycle of a frog. Birdwatching Kits (as alternatives to chick hatching projects) were also sent out to teachers.

Besides our booth at the Pride Festival, ARC also marched in the Pride parade in Minneapolis. Marchers carried “Go Faux” flags and handed out suckers and stickers that said, “I fake it!” – all to encourage the parade audience to think about swearing off leather and fur. The stickers were a huge success!

A great group of ARC volunteers marched in the May Day Parade. Our theme, echoed in the green flags carried by marchers, was “go green, go veg.” Thanks to all the volunteers who staffed our booth at the festival in Powderhorn Park, marched in the parade, and made the day so successful!

These days it seems you can’t turn on a television or open a newspaper without seeing a story about the importance of going green. While there are many things you can do to go green, one vitally important action, adopting a plant-based diet, has been ignored by the media and promoters of events such as the Living Green Expo.
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We recently posted some questions regarding the killing of about 130 cats that the Animal Humane Society reportedly “rescued” from a mobile home in St. Anthony, Minnesota. In response to ARC’s expressed concerns, and concerns expressed by many other animal advocates, the AHS board issued a form letter response on April 6.
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On Tuesday, February 10, 130 cats were “rescued” by the Animal Humane Society (AHS) from a hoarding situation in St. Anthony, Minnesota. AHS received multiple offers of help from other shelters and rescue organizations. AHS senior staff told the public and media that the cats would be kept for two to three weeks to complete medical and behavior evaluations. However, for the next few days, AHS executive director, Janelle Dixon was quoted as saying the cats were, “unlikely to be adoptable.” On Saturday, February 14, Dixon appeared on WCCO television and announced that the cats had been killed and cited common, treatable, and manageable ailments as the rationale for killing the cats.
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Michele Rokke began working for PETA in 1994 as an undercover investigator. Her first assignment was to investigate allegations of cruelty at a horse ranch in North Dakota. After that she worked undercover at numerous facilities, including Boys Town National Research Hospital, various chicken farms, and, most notably, Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), where she spent eight months investigating. HLS has been the target of a global campaign aimed at shutting them down because of the way animals are treated in its facilities. Michele spoke about her experience as an undercover investigator and shared what day-to-day life is like for animals in laboratories. You can watch an excerpt from her talk on YouTube.

Over 50 high schools across Minnesota accepted ARC’s offer to provide books about conscientious objection to dissection! We included additional information about humane alternatives to dissection along with the books. Thanks to the generous sponsors of this program, thousands of high school students in Minnesota now have the resources they need to opt out of a cruel and outdated classroom practice. As a bonus, media specialists in high schools across Minnesota now know they can contact ARC for help in finding other animal-friendly resources.

Star Tribune writer Kim Ode had wonderful things to say about Rhymes with Vegan, the online cooking show sponsored by ARC, and its host Meagan Holtgrewe. Ode said: “Good production values, great music and Holtgrewe’s engaging manner combine to make this a local asset.” Read the article. And the Bridge newspaper did a two-page spread on Rhymes with Vegan entitled “Critter-free cooking” and featured it in their “Chow” section.
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