The Renaissance Festival is offering elephant, camel, pony, and llama rides. Join our protest to help raise awareness about these unethical attractions at the Ren Fest and encourage people attending to skip the animal exploitation and instead enjoy the activities that don't hurt animals.

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.

These animals are chained for many hours every day. They are trucked around the country from site to site 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", walking in boring circles day after day with hundreds of pounds on their backs, for hour upon boring, uncomfortable hour.

There are huge public safety concerns, as well. These are wild animals who are forced to comply with their handlers’ demands by force, and sometimes they will reach a limit, resist their captors and revolt.
Elephants also carry the human strain of tuberculosis (TB) and can easily transmit it. Most companies fail to have valid TB tests performed on their elephants due to the cost and difficulty of administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges that this disease is highly transferable from elephants to humans.

Yet, despite their knowledge of the inherent cruelty and danger, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival continues to feature exotic animal rides.

We will be meeting at the Holiday Gas station (12681 Chestnut Blvd., Shakopee, MN 55379), to take activists to the Ren Fest entrance at 11:30AM. The gas station is our best bet for parking and a short walk to the Queen's Gate (12360 Chestnut Blvd). If you miss a ride to the gate, you'll have to walk down Chestnut Blvd to the gate. If you have any difficulties with parking and/or finding us, please feel free to direct message us.

Signs will be provided, but feel free to make your own if you would like!

Photo taken by Brooke Reynolds (Captured by Brooke Photography): https://www.capturedbybrooke.com/.../Features/Ren-Fest-2017/