Over 2 million people attended the 2025 Minnesota State Fair, the largest U.S. event featuring live births of calves, piglets, and lambs at its popular Miracle of Birth Center. Yet behind these sanitized attractions lies a darker reality. State fairs nationwide exploit farmed animals in numerous ways, disguising it as education, entertainment, and promotion, while normalizing systemic cruelty.

From mid-August through Labor Day, In Defense of Animals, Animal Rights Coalition, and undercover investigator Unparalleled Suffering called for the Minnesota State Fair to shut down the Miracle of Birth Center, exposing the suffering and desecration of motherhood that is routine in animal farming.

Many phone calls were made, and more than 11,000 signatures were submitted, while the campaign’s message was further amplified through media releases demanding the exhibit’s closure. Throughout the 10-day fair, peaceful protests, including leafleting, chalk messages, and banner drops, condemned the fair’s use and treatment of animals, as well as its deceptive humanewashing.

Female animals are forcibly impregnated on strict schedules to ensure births coincide with the fair, maximizing visitor appeal and profits. Mothers give birth in loud, chaotic environments, and are quickly separated from their newborns, who are often handled by visitors, leaving mothers anguished and unable to protect their babies.

Promoted as family fun, live animal exhibits condition the public to view animals as mere sources of amusement. Most state fairs are heavily influenced and funded by animal agribusiness interests, pushing meat, dairy, and egg consumption while glossing over brutal violence like sexual violation, agonizing mutilations without anesthesia, and slaughter.

Animals forced to give rides, such as ponies and even cows, along with those used in performances and petting zoos, endure exhaustion, fear, and torment. Repeatedly carrying riders leads to back injuries, joint strain, and chronic pain, while training with punishment or physical manipulation to perform tricks, often accompanied by being prodded or struck, causes further psychological and physical harm.

“Livestock” shows, often run through youth agriculture programs like Future Farmers of America and 4-H, train children and teens to value breed standards, suppress their empathy, and see animals as commodities destined for slaughter. Most of the animals are tightly bound with heavy ropes and chains that restrict their movement, trapping them in a cycle of suffering with no escape.

Pig racing forces terrified pigs to race in front of loud crowds, often in sweltering heat, causing them extreme stress and fear. Shearing of sheep is often done aggressively with tools that can cut them, causing pain and panic, while forced milking of dairy cow mothers turns the milk meant for their stolen babies into another spectacle to be gawked at.

Virtually all the animals subjected to cruelty in state fairs are ultimately sent to slaughterhouses. Ending these practices means challenging societal norms and recognizing that exploiting animals for unnecessary products, entertainment, or anything is cruel, archaic, and unethical.

For more resources and ways to get involved, see our latest news for Farmed Animals.