Big news!  Ribnick Furs has announced they will be closing their doors at the end of 2021!

ARC has been standing up for victims of the fur industry in a variety of ways since the early 80’s and many of these demonstrations have taken place right outside Ribnick. As more companies decide to stop selling the skin and fur of tortured animals, the time is NOW to put pressure on the Minneapolis City Council to ban the sale of new fur in the city.

YOU can help make this happen!  If you live in Minneapolis, please reach out to your city council member and urge them to support a ban on the sale of new fur.

Our coalition partner, Fur Free Minneapolis has made taking action really easy. There is also action you can take if you’re not a Minneapolis resident.  Check out their site, https://furfreeminneapolis.org/, it will only take a couple minutes, and it could assist in making fur history!

The city of Blaine is considering passing a humane pet store ordinance to stop the sale of puppy mill puppies in pet stores.

We are asking Blaine residents to contact the City Council to express support for the humane pet store ordinance.  Hearing from their community is very important!

If you live and Blaine and would like a “Go Humane, Blaine” sign for your yard and/or would like to be contacted once the city council has a meeting addressing the ordinance that is open to the public for comment, please contact our Campaign Manager at ashleyr@animalrightscoalition.com and she will help you out!

For further information, please follow our Facebook page, Minnesotans Exposing the Pet Trade. Join us for our regular pet store protests!

If you live in Blaine, click this link to take action.

“Hi ARC Volunteers,

I just wanted to say a few words about tabling and doing outreach at the Farmers Markets and to encourage anyone who has even a remote interest to get involved in these awesome events. This is a great way to encourage and support an ethical lifestyle and to help educate those who are misinformed.  ARC has great materials so it makes it easy to interact with people (even for us introverts).

I have been involved in the tabling at the Farmers Markets for several years and have found it to be fun and rewarding.  When I first started, I only attended them sporadically and I’d wonder if we were really doing any good. Then one summer, I was at the same Farmers Market multiple times, so was able to see and interact with the same people through the summer and see what happened over the course of time. These are just a few of many examples that tell me we do make a difference:

• A woman came up to chat and tell me that she was vegetarian but she could never become vegan because she could never give up cheese.  I talked a little about dairy and recommended several vegan brands she could try. A few weeks later she came back and told me how she had found some of that Miyoko’s cheese on sale and she really liked it.
• A gentleman came up and in a defensive/argumentative manner, asked me many questions about lots of aspects of veganism.  He did ended up taking some of the literature.  Later in the summer he came back and told me he had finally gone vegan and it was going ok so far and asked for some ideas on eating out in the Twin Cities.

We also regularly have people stopping by – especially new vegans – looking for support, recipes and other information.  They are very appreciative of any help we can give and with what we have available so would definitely recommend trying this out if you are looking for a great way to become more involved!” – Dedicated and longtime ARC Volunteer, Shaun.

If you’re interested in volunteering with ARC, please email the Outreach Manager at Kelsey@animalrightscoalition.com. 

Join ARC at the first Community Gardening event of the season! Last year, ARC was fortunate to start volunteering with Youth Farm, a nonprofit organization that utilizes food as a catalyst for social change, community engagement, and leadership development focused on youth in the community. We’ll be joining them on Tuesday, May 18th, from 3:00-6:00 pm in St. Paul to kick off the growing season. If you’re interested in joining ARC to volunteer with Youth Farm, email Kelsey@animalrightscoalition.com. 

Join ARC’s Campaign Manager, Ashley, and Outreach Manager, Kelsey, for a Help! I’m Going Vegan online workshop. We’ll answer all your questions related to veganism including ethics, nutrition, the environment, how to gently explain to grandma that her banana bread isn’t vegan… and how to teach her to make it vegan.

Tune in on Wednesday, April 28th, from 6:30-8:00 pm. We’ll have tons of information and resources to take away. This is a great opportunity to answer questions you’ve been confused about, teach you how to respond to opposing views from friends and family, and help ease the transition to a vegan lifestyle.

Let’s make fur history! Help Fur Free Minneapolis, ARC, and other coalition partners ban the sale of new fur in Minneapolis.

We especially need people who live in Minneapolis Ward 6 to add their voices. If you live in Ward 6 (Ward 6 map is shown to the left) and want to help, send us a message to find out what you can do. You can email ashleyr@animalrightscoalition.com or info@furfreeminneapolis.org to get involved.

Please sign and share the petition to make Minneapolis the next fur free city!

ARC created a new Guide to being Vegan in the Twin Cities! Use it as a resource for finding Minnesota’s animal sanctuaries, locating restaurants, cafes and food trucks, suggestions for books and blogs to read, movies and documentaries to watch, local vegan organizations to support, and important issues to learn about. You can also search through events ARC participates in, find resources for raising vegan children, and scope out animal-friendly activities for kids and families to engage in together. Save it as an app on your phone or bookmark on the computer for quick and easy access to a comprehensive guide for being Vegan in the Twin Cities!

ARC volunteers had a great time volunteering at one of Youth Farm’s community gardens again in October. We harvested a ton of healthy food and helped get the garden ready for winter. We’re already excited to volunteer next year. Add in lots of laughs, good music, a little dancing, learning some new things, and a whole bunch of good vibes. We even had a visit from retired Vikings player Tyrone Carter, who stopped by as he was in the area making sure people were registered to vote.