Macaws Don't Belong in a Car Wash
4 out of 6 Paradise Car Washes in the Twin Cities keep a Macaw as a resident "pet". The birds live at the Savage, Apple Valley, Eagan, and East Bloomington stores. Their names are Ruby, Peanut, Speedy, and Rainbow. According to employees, the birds are in the car wash 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have been for their entire lives.

Knowledgeable observers say the birds show signs of stress, aggravated by being handled by the public and by the exuberance of children and dogs who come into the car washes. Issues range from behaviors demonstrating depression to excessive feather plucking (sometimes down to bare skin). There appears to be little to no enrichment such as toys and activities provided.

Macaws live in their natural habitat for up to 70 years and they mate for life. These birds deserve a better life and the companionship of others of their species. Ask Paradise Car Wash to turn over these birds to a qualified rescue and boycott the business until they do. Contact info: Savage (952) 890-7755, Apple Valley (952) 431-4600, Eagan (651) 456-0000, East Bloomington (952) 888-5388. Please like and share the Facebook page about the birds.

Suggest ARC's Vegan University for your Employee Health Fair
If your employer has an annual health fair, suggest ARC's Vegan University as a vendor. Here's a sample email you can use that resulted in ARC doing food sampling at a recent corporate health fair and also becoming a regular provider of literature on veganism to several personal trainers for their clients.

"Just saw an email about the upcoming health fair and wanted to suggest the organization I volunteer with for the fair. We have a program called Vegan University that promotes plant-based eating with food sampling and literature. We offer regular free grocery shopping tours at local co-ops and markets like Whole Foods, Byerly's, and Rainbow, and regular free workshops about adopting a plant-based diet. We've been at several employee health fairs; for example, we had tables at the CIGNA and SGI employee health fairs, and regularly have booths at community events such as the Diabetes Expo and Healthy Life Expo.

We can do free plant-based food sampling. Items typically sampled include Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips (sold at mainstream grocery stores now), Primal Spirit Vegan Jerky, plant-based soy and almond milks, and vegan yogurt.

So am emailing to see if this would be of interest for the health fair. I'm sure you're aware that there has been an explosion of interest in plant-based eating in the last several years, whether people are interested in reducing animal products in their diet for health reasons or in going vegan."

UNFILTERED: Sue Coe, Nancy Robinson, and the Guerilla Girls
Please join ARC on Saturday, February 20 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. for vegan hors d'oeuvres, live violin music, and mingling with fellow activists at the exhibition UNFILTERED: Sue Coe, Nancy Robinson, and the Guerilla Girls at Instinct Art Gallery, 940 Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. 

The UNFILTERED artists are activists across a range of issues including Animal Rights, Feminism, and Personal Identity, and Sue Coe is one of the foremost activist artists working on animal rights today. This event is part of the Guerilla Girls Twin Cities Takeover. These partners will be highlighting gender and racial inequalities and promoting artistic expression by the often overlooked and underrepresented. Instinct will donate 10% from the sale of artwork during this event to ARC.