Join us on Saturday, September 1 from noon to 2 p.m. for a peaceful and legal protest of the exotic animal rides at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival at the Highway 169 entrance to the fair at 3525 145th Street West. Help educate the public about why they should skip these rides and instead enjoy the activities that don’t hurt animals.

People who jump at the chance to get close to these animals by buying rides probably wouldn’t if they knew about the suffering the animals endure. The violence that goes into training animals used for rides is not seen by the public; elephants have to be made so frightened of the bull hook the handler carries that they will behave in front of spectators. In this photo from the 2017 MN Ren Fest, one of the elephants was begging for water; the handler poked her with his bull hook and gave her a Coke (Photo by Captured by Brooke Photography). This same company, Trunks and Humps, is being brought back to the fest in 2018.

These animals are trucked around the country from site to site in small trailers or trucks. In the wild, they have extensive social networks and travel miles on foot every day. But when they’re sentenced to being living amusement park rides they plod in monotonous circles day after day with hundreds of pounds on their backs, for hour upon boring uncomfortable hour.

The Minnesota Renaissance Festival continues to feature these rides, despite their parent company having discontinued the elephant rides at its Kansas City Ren Fest. And this year they’re adding even more animal exploitation with an “Exotic Petting Zoo,” where fairgoers can hug a kangaroo, pet an African porcupine or hand feed a grape to a ring-tailed lemur.

Join us in urging the Renaissance Festival to stop offering elephant rides. Email Minnesota Renaissance Festival owner, Jim Peterson of Mid-Amercia Festivals today at: info@renaissancefest.com

Join the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and the Animal Rights Coalition in Minneapolis on Wednesday, July 25, to urge the Board of Directors of Hennepin Healthcare to end the use of live animals for training emergency medicine residents and department staff.

Location: Please meet us on the sidewalk at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 8th Street South in front of Hennepin Healthcare (GPS users, plug in this address: 799 S 8th St, Minneapolis, MN 55415). Signs will be provided. This event will be held rain or shine. Please use nearby public parking.

At Hennepin, trainees are instructed to cut into live rabbits and sheep to practice invasive procedures. At the end of each session, the animals (up to 200 per year) are killed. Currently, 95 percent (216 of 228) of surveyed emergency medicine residency programs in the U.S. and Canada use only non-animal training methods, making this use of animals educationally substandard and inhumane.

Even if you can’t make it to this demonstration, please take action and ask the hospital to end this educationally inferior and inhumane practice by making the switch to simulation—because Minnesota Deserves Better.

We hope to see you at the demonstration! If you have any questions, feel free to contact Christine at CKauffman@pcrm.org.

Each year Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN adds “extreme” races to its usual lineup of horse racing, proclaiming “It’s a real zoo! Camel, Ostrich, and Zebra races!” Join the Animal Rights Coalition to protest this ridiculous and exploitative event on Saturday July 14, from noon to 2:00 p.m. Let’s use our voices to peacefully show Canterbury and its patrons that we don’t believe animals should be used as entertainment, exotic or otherwise. Signs will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. We will protest at the intersection of Canterbury Road and 12th Ave, across the street from McDonalds. This is a high traffic area as it is where folks will come off 169 to head into the park and there are many businesses nearby.

Please consider posting a comment on the Canterbury Park Facebook page and contact Randy Sampson, President of Canterbury Park, at rsampson@canterburypark.com and ask him to cancel the event. Please be polite as rude or offensive comments will not help the animals.

It’s time for the 10th Annual Global Vegan Waffle Party on Sunday, June 17 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. in the Fuller Park Building at 4800 Grand Ave. South in Minneapolis. Each year, the waffle party allows us to begin new conversations about where our food comes from and the effects of our food choices. And it’s a chance for ARC to say thank you to our wonderful supporters and volunteers for your dedication and hard work for animals.

Here’s how it works: the ARC staff and board of directors make lots of vegan waffles. You come to the party with a plate to pile high with waffles, your silverware, and a vegan topping to share (topping ideas: fresh fruit, maple syrup, chocolate chips, peanut butter, fruit sauce, Just Like Honey, coconut, vegan whipped topping). Join us for delicious waffle fun at this free event! Please RSVP at Vegan Meetup so we know how many waffles to make.

Chicken Run Rescue recently rescued a handsome rooster named Turnip from St. Paul and 7 hens from a cruelty confiscation in Minneapolis. Turnip was lucky. CRR was able to place him, but the next discarded boy may not be so lucky.

If you live in St. Paul, let your city council member know that St. Paul’s rooster ban needs to be lifted as the ban is a death sentence for roosters who represent 50% of the chicks hatched for the backyard chicken fad.

Turnip and most of the hens lost part of their combs and a few toes to frostbite. The standards for care in both cities need to be improved and enforced. If the Cities are going to allow chickens, they need to step up to their responsibilities.

Contact St. Paul city council members.
Contact Minneapolis city council members.

Many of you may remember our petition “Justice for Marcus” that collected over 33,000 signatures, and asked the prosecutor and judge to prosecute the cat’s abuser, Taylor Winum, to the fullest extent of the law .  

Monday 3/19 was the sentencing for Winum, who came to court with alcohol and cocaine in his system according to his urinalysis. We sat through the painful surveillance video from the apartment complex where the horrific incident took place. After this, Marcus’ heartbroken guardian stood in front of the courtroom to explain how this tragedy has affected her, and what she would like to see done as a result.

Winum was sentenced to 120 days in jail, anger management classes, random drug testing, active mental health treatment, not allowed to own a pet/service animal or have unsupervised contact with an animal, and three years probation. 
 
While Winum did not get the full sentence allowed by law, we are pleased that this case was taken seriously by the court. Read Marcus’ guardian’s moving statement.
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After suffering for many hours, Cecil the lion was brutally murdered by Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer in 2015. This travesty raised awareness about the brutal, selfish, and ego-driven activity known as trophy hunting, during which animals are killed for the sole purpose of becoming a head hung on a wall or a skin thrown on a floor. The time has come to put an end to this deadly, selfish practice. The Animal Rights Coalition, in partnership with Minnesota Animal Liberation, will protest outside of the Minnesota Safari Club World Hunting Expo at the Minneapolis MarriotT Northwest, 7025 Northland Drive North in Brooklyn Park from noon to 2:30 p.m. Join us to tell expo goers that killing isn’t conservation and animals are not trophies. Signs will be provided. RSVP at the Facebook event. Banner courtesy of Compassion Works International.

The Petland in St. Paul has taken down their sign and closed. We’re happy Petland is now gone from the Twin Cities (first the Shakopee store closed and now St. Paul), and with it their sales of animals from large-scale breeders, but we’re not quite ready to celebrate yet, as the owner has stated that she wants to re-open as an independent pet store. We’ll keep you posted.