St. Louis Animal Rights Team

Since 1985, START volunteers have spearheaded countless campaigns to challenge, oppose, and ultimately eliminate animal cruelty, with tabling serving as our primary form of outreach. Every year, we table at over a dozen community events, from the Natural Living Expo to Midwest Crystal Fest. PrideFest St. Louis provides a prime example of our tabling at its most impactful; this past June, we not only completed over 800 pay-per-view screenings with just two laptops, but also distributed over 4,000 "Compassionate Choices" leaflets, saving untold thousands from a lifetime of misery inside factory farms. Beyond these more traditional forms of vegan advocacy, we embrace nonviolent direct action, organizing dozens of protests that mobilize, energize, and empower hundreds of St. Louis activists every year. This past year was our most jam-packed yet, with a protest every week becoming a routine exercise rather than a rare occurrence. With a relentless focus on building community, we also host holiday potlucks, restaurant nights, bimonthly meetings, and movie screenings.

Over the past few decades, we have scored major political victories, from gathering enough signatures to successfully ban cockfighting in the state of Missouri to applying sufficient pressure to finally shut down the cruel cat lab at Washington University this past December. We have also proven instrumental in helping pass the Protection of Dogs and Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act of 2010, in addition to waging a 4-year legal battle to regulate the carriage horse industry.