We had a great group of families from ARC’s VegKins program at the recent Feed My Starving Children event in Eagan, Minnesota. VegKins families packed plant-based food for children desperately in need. It was a rewarding experience for all.

For years, Fur-Ever Wild in Eureka Township, Minnesota has operated as a petting zoo and fur farm, with the owners breeding animals, exhibiting them for a fee, and then slaughtering them for their fur (according to previous statements by the business).

A court ruling last year found that Fur-Ever Wild’s petting zoo operation violated local ordinances, and the animal exhibition part of the business was shut down. So we were surprised to learn that Fur-Ever Wild is now advertising “volunteer” positions, which require a fee, to hold and feed animals. It seems the new “volunteer” program is an attempt to sidestep the law and continue profiting by selling contact with the animals in addition to their fur.

Minnesota residents, we need your help to urge the Dakota County Sheriff, Dakota County Attorney, and Eureka Township Board to uphold the law and shut down this activity. Fill out the Animal Legal Defense Fund form to tell officials to shut it down!

Join the Animal Rights Coalition in helping orphaned and injured wild animals through our Cuddle Coats program. Every week we receive donated fur coats from the public, and volunteers prep and ship the coats to our wildlife rehabilitation center partners all across the U.S, where they’re used to help animals like these baby beavers snuggling in their donated Cuddle Coats. Prepping the coats involves removing buttons and fasteners, cutting out labels and linings, etc. All supplies are provided. We suggest wearing something you don’t mind getting a bit fuzzy.

Following cleanup, we’ll grill veggie burger patties and buns. Veggie burgers and buns will be provided, but please bring some burger toppings you enjoy. Event is at the ARC office, co-located with Ethique Nouveau, 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis on Sunday, May 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

RSVP on Vegan Meetup or the Facebook event.

COMMITTED TO THE STRUGGLE: Former Political Prisoner Daniel McGowan on Repression and Radical Activism under Trump

Daniel McGowan is a social justice activist from NYC whose arrest and conviction for “eco-terrorism” in 2005 became a flashpoint in the Green Scare repression of environmental and animal rights activist communities. His story is the focus of the Academy Award nominated documentary film If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011). (A free screening of the film will be held several weeks before the talk).

Daniel will be speaking about his own personal history and sharing novel approaches to movement building and radical activism under the Trump administration.

This free talk is Friday, May 12 at 7:00-9:00 PM at Walker United Methodist Church, 3104 16th Ave. S in Minneapolis. Childcare will be provided. The space is wheelchair accessible (via a ramp), and American Sign Language interpretation will be available.

Brought to you by the Animal Rights Coalition with support from the Anti-War Committee, Communities United Against Police Brutality, Minnesota Animal Liberation, MN Committee to Stop FBI Repression, National Lawyers Guild (MN Branch), Progress for Science Minnesota, and Support Vegans in the Prison System.

It’s that time of year again! The World Wide Vegan Bake Sale is the biggest and best bake sale of the year. This year, all proceeds will benefit SoulSpace Farm Sanctuary. SoulSpace, located in New Richmond, Wisconsin, provides rescue, rehabilitation, and a permanent safe haven to farm animals in need. Come and bring your friends to stock up on lots of vegan goodies. The sale is on Saturday, April 15 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the ARC office/Ethique Nouveau, 317 West 48th Street in Minneapolis. Remember to bring a box or container to haul your loot home because we’ll be charging for boxes to keep the event eco-friendly.

If you donate baked goods (and thank you in advance if you do!), please write the ingredients down for people with food allergies. Donated items should be pre-wrapped or cut so that they’re easier to divvy up. Please drop them off between 12 and 12:45 on the day of the sale or between 12pm-6pm the day before.

2016 was a year of continued growth and innovation for ARC. We saw victories in individual programs and campaigns to help animals, continued to innovate and explore new forms of outreach, and expanded our community of animal advocates. Through outreach and education that raised awareness about the plight of animals and encouraged ethical choices, we made a difference in animals’ lives.

We want to thank our volunteers and donors for their gifts of time and funds in 2016. You are the backbone of the work we do. None of what we accomplish could be done without you. We’ve seen the treatment of animals shift and go through many stages and we’ve been there. Together with your help we’ll continue working to reshape the world for animals. Please check out our ARC Annual Report 2016 to see how we continued to reach a record number of people with the message that animals matter for their own reasons.

Roseville, Minnesota has banned the sale of dogs and cats from commercial breeders in pet stores! Thanks to everyone who attended the ARC protests at the Har Mar Mall, where the Har Mar Pet Store is located! You made a difference by helping to bring the issue of pet stores selling animals from commercial breeding facilities (puppy and kitten mills) to the public’s attention. See the Fox 9 news story which contains footage from ARC demonstrations at the Har Mar Mall last summer.

George Carlin once famously said, “I don’t like words that hide the truth. I don’t like words that conceal reality. I don’t like euphemisms or euphemistic language. And American English is loaded with euphemisms. Because Americans have a lot of trouble dealing with reality. Americans have trouble facing the truth. So they invent the kind of soft language to protect themselves from it.”

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the terminology used by animal exploitation industries for the products they promote to “conscious consumers” to get them to spend more money on the same suffering and death. Terms like “cage free”, “free range”, and “grass-fed” sound great and look even better on a carton of eggs or the wrapping of a steak. They evoke images of rolling green pastures on a small, family-owned farm and the romanticized agricultural practices of earlier rural society where all the milk came from your next door neighbor, several miles down the dirt road.

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