Protest the Elephant Rides at the Ren Fest

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