Welcome to Chicago Alliance for Animals
We believe every animal deserves dignity, protection, companionship, and freedom from harm (including intense confinement), and we work every day to make that a reality and create lasting change for animals across Chicagoland and beyond.
Who We Stand For
One Sulcata Tortoise Named Spur
Spur has been kept in a hard tile pen for over 35 years–since approximately 1991.
Sulcatas typically:
• Dig Deep Tunnels Underground • Explore Vast Landscapes– Miles Each Day • Live to Be 150-Years-Old! – (If Spur’s Situation Doesn’t Change, Then Her Suffering Has Not Reached Its Halfway Point Yet) – Baby Sulcata Tortoises Sold There Will Most Likely Outlive Their Buyer – For $300, Anyone Can Sign Up for a 150-Year Commitment
Yet Spur...
• Is Not for Sale–a Window Prop • Has Nowhere to Dig • Has Nowhere to Get Comfortable • Is Only Allowed to Take a Couple of Steps in Each Direction • Has No Fresh Air • Cannot Feel Unfiltered Sunshine on Her Shell • Has Nothing Natural to Her Life • Has Endured 365 Days X 35+ Years of Noise and Light Pollution • Is Neglected by Store Employees • Endlessly Tries to Escape
Spur serves as a devastating example of just how far humans will go to confine and exploit animals; and how Lincolnwood officials have let Spur and countless like her down.
(Sound on)
Doomed to go from one cage to another, wild animals do not belong in homes.
Even for people who mean well and spend a lot of money, it is extremely difficult to try and replicate the exact environment a wild animal needs to thrive. Wild animals suffer to death in human care.
Survival is far from a "life". Wild animals in cages and tanks are unable to:
• Stay Healthy • Move Around • Control Their Environment • Regulate Their Body Temperature • Have a Family of Their Own
This can end anytime.
Mayor Patel and the Trustees of Lincolnwood simply need to enforce pre-existing humane laws that prohibit the keeping and sale of wild animals. The law still allows adoptions through shelters and licensed rescues while preventing harmful, profit-driven wildlife sales and protecting animals, the public, and ecosystems by ensuring wild animals live in appropriate environments where they can thrive naturally.
Desert Oasis Sanctuary in AZ is ready to give Spur the land and freedom she desperately needs.
Shelters/Rescues Full; Breeding for Pet Store Profit Continues
People abandon rabbits outside to fend for themselves... But domesticated rabbits cannot survive in the wild.
When abandoned outside, domestic rabbits ultimately: • Experience a Vicious Death by Predators • Become Infested With Pests • Are Maimed by Cars, or • Suffer to Death by the Elements
Rabbits are often marketed as "easy", "starter-pets" and Easter gifts–but that is far from the truth.
Rabbits are prey animals who do not like: • Loud Noises • Being Chased • Being Handled – Many are injured by children who do not understand their vulnerability
Rabbits also often suffer deeply from neglect and space constraints. This is why thoughtful, informed adoption is so important.
When sold for profit, such as at The Animal Store, rabbits are often sold:
• misgendered
• pregnant
• sick
Unaware buyers are lured into a 8-16 year, non-returnable, non-refundable commitment. Families are hit with:
• Behavioral Problems (Such as Biting) • Specialized, Expensive Vet Bills • Pests and Diseases • Surprise Litters 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰 People panic. That's when the "dumping" happens.
Rescues and shelters across Chicagoland are overrun with hundreds of rabbits and other small mammals who already need re-homing.
Chicagoland Rabbit Rescue Organizations
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Red Door Animal Shelter
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Wonder Bunny Rabbit Rescue
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The Moon Dog Farm
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House Rabbit Society of Chicago
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Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary
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One Tail at a Time
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Community Animal Rescue Effort
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Evanston Animal Shelter and
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Bunnies United
In 2025, Red Door Animal Shelter in Rogers Park had:
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92 stray rabbits in their care
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279 surrender requests, and
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169 field rescues
The solution? End rabbit and "pocket pet" sales.
Urge Lincolnwood's Mayor and Trustees to align with Cook County and enforce humane laws already in place.
8 Years Alone in a Cage
Coyotes are naturally pack animals. Yet, since 2018, Rocky, the coyote, has been:
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enduring Northbrook, IL's bitter winters
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confined to a small cage
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outside
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alone
Rocky can be found pacing. (Video speed is at 1.3x to highlight movement patterns.)
How did this happen?
Supposedly, Rocky was mistaken for a puppy. Yet, this isn't how one would house a domesticated animal. Nor is it sufficient for a naturally wild animal.
Now Rocky is on display in the name of "education".
Exploitation is not education. Confinement is not conservation.
CAA is calling for Rocky's transfer to a sanctuary in Colorado–or, at the very least, a coyote companion.
