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While many people jump at the opportunity to get close to animals by buying exotic animal rides at fairs and fests, they probably wouldn’t if they knew about the suffering the animals endure being treated as amusement park attractions.

Much of the violence isn’t seen by the public because the owners of these operations know that people would be enraged if they knew how these animals are punished and beaten into submission. They have to make the elephants avoidant to punishment so that they will behave in front of spectators.

These animals are chained for many hours every day. They are trucked around the country in small trailers or trucks. If they were allowed to live in the wild, they would have extensive social networks and travel miles upon miles every day. But when they’re sentenced to being “rides”, they have to plod in boring circles day after day with hundreds of pounds on their backs, for hour upon boring, uncomfortable hour.

Yet, despite this, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival continues to feature exotic animal rides.

Join us in protest Saturday, October 3rd from 10am-12 noon. We will meet at the Highway 169 entrance at 3525 145th Street West in Shakopee. Signs will be provided, as will literature to hand out. All you need to do is show up with your sunscreen on and water in hand. If you’d like to carpool from the ARC office in south Minneapolis, please post in the Facebook event.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who donated to our animal advocacy programs in 2014. We were thrilled by the number of donors who recognized that our work is showing real results. Without your loyal and generous support the Animal Rights Coalition could not exist. You make our victories for the animals possible.

If you meant to make a donation before the end of the year, but time got away from you, no worries. Make your donation to ARC now and feel good about starting the New Year off right!

We’ve had a very strong finish to the year with ExtraVEGANza events at two Whole Foods markets featuring vegan shopping tours, food samplings, and cooking demos; a second screening of the film COWSPIRACY that once again sold over 100 tickets, selling out the Lagoon Theater; and our annual Turkey-Free Thanksgiving potluck which brought in over 120 people, with many new faces in attendance. Our Cuddle Coats program reached a major milestone and recently sent its 600th fur donation to one of our 38 wildlife rehab partners, and fur donations to this program are showing no signs of slowing. We had well attended demonstrations at the Shrine Circus and at Ribnick Furs for Fur-Free Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, and a great Pay Per View event at North Hennepin Community College to a diverse and interested group of students. Finishing off a year of very successful educational outreach, Dallas Rising, ARC’s Executive Director, gave a well received talk about speciesism to 145 people as part of the Normandale College Colloquium Series.

So make a year-end donation to ARC now. We so appreciate not only your support, but also your vote of confidence in our work to save the lives of animals. With people like you on our side, we look forward to making even more of a difference for animals in the year ahead, never letting anyone forget that animals matter.

The Animal Rights Coalition invites you to join us at our annual Holiday Open House on Sunday, December 7 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm. Enjoy delicious vegan appetizers from the Herbivorous Butcher and of course, lots of sweet treats too, meet other ARC members and friends, and browse for animal-friendly holiday gifts from Ethique Nouveau’s great selection of unique merchandise. This event is always a fun low-key way to connect with other members of the community. Location is the ARC Office at Ethique Nouveau, 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis.

Did you know that ARC speaks to many classes and student groups? We regularly talk to young adults and college students about subjects such as speciesism, animals and food ethics, our treatment of animals and relationship to animals, sustainability and environmental issues related to food, and food justice at places like Fridley Middle School, Southwest High School, Augsburg College, Hamline University, Mankato State University, Metropolitan Community & Technical College (MCTC), and Normandale College.

We’ll be reaching out to educators at the Education Minnesota Professional Conference on Thursday, 10/16 and the Twin Cities Social Justice Education Fair on Friday, 10/17, and we’ll be speaking at the St. Cloud State Global Social Responsibility Conference on 10/20 and North Hennepin Community College on 10/27.

If you would like someone from ARC to speak at your school, civic organization, Girl Scout troop, or church group, email Dallas Rising at dallas@animalrightscoalition.com and we’ll set something up. You can also download and print a copy of our new brochure Ethical Values and Our Relationship with Animals to give to educators and group leaders about our presentations.

Would you like to warm the hearts of injured wildlife? Join us for our Bake for Their Sake vegan bake sale on Sunday, September 14 from noon-4 p.m. at Ethique Nouveau, 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis. Indulge in all of your favorite vegan goodies for a great cause. Proceeds from the bake sale will benefit ARC’s Cuddle Coats program which accepts donated furs and accessories and ships them to our partner wildlife rehabilitation centers for orphaned and injured wildlife to cuddle with during the rehabilitation process. We have a huge stack of donated furs piled up and we would like to get them shipped as soon as possible! To volunteer at the bake sale or bake vegan goodies for this event, please contact Alex Beane at alex@animalrightscoalition.com. Volunteer bakers are asked to bring a copy of the recipe.

Are you sad because you couldn’t make the September screening of COWSPIRACY? Wipe those tears because tickets just went on sale for a second screening on Thursday, October 16, 7:30- 9:21 p.m. at the Landmark Lagoon Cinema, 1320 Lagoon Ave. in Minneapolis!

You can buy tickets for the second screening here. There’s lots of buzz about this film; make sure you don’t miss it!

The Animal Rights Coalition is proud to bring COWSPIRACY to Minnesota on Tuesday, September 16 at 7:30 pm at the Lagoon Cinema in Minneapolis.

COWSPIRACY: The Sustainability Secret is a groundbreaking feature-length environmental documentary following an intrepid filmmaker as he uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet today, and investigates why the world’s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it. As eye-opening as the film Blackfish and as inspiring as An Inconvenient Truth, this shocking yet humorous documentary reveals the absolutely devastating environmental impact factory farming has on our planet.

This screening has sold out. Stay tuned; we’re working on booking a second one.

Join animal advocates on Sunday, August 17 in asking Whole Foods to stop selling rabbit flesh, and asking Whole Foods customers to join us at the St. Paul Whole Foods Market, 30 Fairview Ave. S, St. Paul, Minnesota from 11 am to 2 pm!

While the organizers of this event do not support the slaughter of any animal, this event is focused on Whole Foods’ new pilot program to sell rabbit flesh. It has been confirmed that Whole Foods is now selling rabbit flesh in every Minnesota location. Whole Foods is attempting to create demand for rabbit flesh and is sourcing from states that have passed Ag-Gag laws making it illegal to document abuses behind farm walls. Rabbits have almost no protections under the law as the USDA considers them exempt from the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.

Together we will send a peaceful message to Whole Foods that introducing new flesh foods is not okay. We will have signs and flyers and ask shoppers to sign a petition and to fill out comment cards politely asking Whole Foods to stop the sale of rabbit flesh.

We’re sad to report that Animal Rights Coalition Founder Vonnie Thomasberg passed away on July 13. Vonnie founded ARC in 1980 and for over 30 years defended the rights of nonhuman animals and provided leadership and inspiration.

Jim Mason, author of Animal Factories and The Ethics of What We Eat with Peter Singer, An Unnatural Order, and co-founder of The Animals’ Agenda magazine sent this tribute to Vonnie: “We ‘old timers’ who knew and worked with Vonnie over the years will miss her greatly, for she was a great soul and fun to be with. All of us benefit from her work, for she was a pioneer and leader in the building of the American Animal Rights movement.”

“Sensing the rising awareness and restlessness catalyzed by Peter Singer’s 1975 book, Animal Liberation, she founded Animal Rights Coalition to put that into action for animals in the Twin Cities. With ARC, she organized some of the very first conferences to bring together speakers and activists from all over the country to talk about issues, strategies, tactics, and actions for animals.”

“Some of the then-young activists who attended her conferences went back home to Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Chicago, and many other major U.S. cities to start ARC-like organizations. Other attendees founded or formed the first staff of national organizations such as Farm Sanctuary and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Her leadership and activism in the Twin Cities was both a model and a motivator for animal activism across the U.S. when the American Animal Rights Movement was newly born. Vonnie, you made an awful/wonderful lot happen for animals; may the rest of us keep it going.”

Gary Francione, author with Anna Charlton, of Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Morality of Eating Animals; Animals as Persons; Introduction to Animal Rights, and other books sent this tribute to Vonnie: “Vonnie was a great person. She not only embraced veganism and abolition fairly early on, but she also saw the connections between human rights and animal rights. She was a major force in animal rights even beyond Minnesota. She will be missed.”

To learn more about this exceptional woman and her fascinating life, read Vonnie’s article “Look How Far We’ve Come!” in the Winter 2011 30th Anniversary issue of ARC News and “History of an Activist.” Both articles are guaranteed to give you an appreciation for Vonnie’s groundwork that went into making ARC the strong activist organization it is today.