Compassionate Action for Animals (CAA) is an animal rights group based in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. The group advocates animal liberation, legislation to improve animal protections, and veganism. CAA is best known for hosting the annual Veg Fest, a vegan food festival. ¹

While CAA claimed to be founded on principles of “strategic nonviolence,” its leadership and members have trespassed on private property and stolen animals to “rescue” them. ^{2 3}

Background

Compassionate Action for Animals was founded in 1998 by Unny Nambudiripad, Matt Mackall, and Dave Rolsky. All three were students at the University of Minnesota and members of Student Organization for Animal Rights, a campus-level animal rights group. The three became disillusioned with the group, which utilized civil disobedience, and became convinced that animal rights activism would be more successful with “strategic nonviolence” tactics. The three founded CAA as a less “angry” and “confrontational” group than other animal rights groups at the time, arguing, “We wanted to have a very different tone, we read a lot about nonviolence, trying to be compassionate and gentle and respectful to our opposition.” ^{2 3}

Nambudiripad had been involved in animal rights advocacy in 1995 through the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group. Nambudiripad was CAA’s executive director until he left the group in 2016. ³

Mackall and Rolsky have said that they were inspired to become animal rights activists in part due to the works of philosopher Peter Singer, who is also a major influence on the Effective Altruism movement. Both Mackall and Rolsky retired from CAA in 2017. ^{3 2}

Activities

Events and Communications

In 2024, Compassionate Action for Animals invited Minnesotans to attend animal rights activist events, provided plant-based meals to students, and provided classes to students about the value of plant-based diets. ¹

CAA hosts Twin Cities Veg Fest, a festival for vegan food. In 2024, the group recorded 5,000 attendees at Veg Fest and claimed to persuade 2,500 non-vegans to try vegan food. That year, the group hosted 20 other events promoting vegan foods. ¹

CAA joined a campaign at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Twin Cities to encourage serving vegan foods to patients. ¹

In 2024, CAA sent out 5,000 postcards “promoting empathy for animals and plant-based eating.” ¹

Trespassing and Animal Theft

CAA co-founder Unny Nambudiripad has admitted to breaking into farms and “rescuing” animals. For instance, in 2006, “activists associated with” CAA trespassed onto a Minnesota farmer’s property to take pictures of the conditions of his animals. ^{4 3}

In 2003, the Nicollet County Board made a request to keep the locations of animal feedlots off public records out of concern for farmer safety after CAA activists were accused of trespassing on farm property. ⁵ In 2001, CAA “rescued” a dozen chickens from a farm and held a press conference to expose their previous conditions. ²

Political Advocacy

CAA advocates for animal welfare laws. CAA opposed H.R. 4673, or the Save Our Bacon Act, and S. 1326, or the Food Security and Farm Protection Act. CAA claims the bills would remove state powers to more strictly regulate farming than the federal government, thereby undermining animal rights protections in numerous states. ⁶

In 2024, CAA joined the Humane League’s Animal Policy Alliance to support a Minnesota bill that would require schools to provide plant-based meals to students on request. ¹

CAA campaigns against factory farming by signing petitions and handing out leaflets. ^{1 7}

Funding

In 2025, Compassionate Action for Animals received a grant from the Animal Policy Alliance to “support plant-based food access and animal welfare.” ⁸

Also in 2025, CAA received a grant from the Humane League. ⁹

In 2024, CAA’s donors included the American Vegetarian Association, Disney, the Bonfire Charitable Foundation, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. ¹

In 2019, CAA received a $40,000 grant from Animal Charity Evaluators. ¹⁰

CAA has received local government funding. In 2024, CAA received a grant of over $5,000 from the City of St. Paul Cultural Star Fund. ¹

1. “CAA 2024 Annual Report.” Heyzine. Accessed February 7, 2026. https://heyzine.com/flip-book/860403370b.html#page/1.
2. “Matt and Dave: Leaving a Legacy for CAA.” Compassionate Action for Animals. Accessed February 7, 2026. https://caa.mn/2017/11/07/matt-dave-leaving-legacy-caa/.
3. Steinberg, Jacob. “U alum who pioneered Twin Cities Veg Fest hopes to tackle animal rights policy.” The Minnesota Daily. October 27, 2016. Accessed February 7, 2026. https://mndaily.com/city/st-unny/10/27/2016/#:~:text=Nambudiripad%20said%20he%20expects%20about,I%20want%20to%20pursue%20those.%E2%80%9D.
4. “American Farm Bureau Federation v. United States Environmental Protection Agency.” H2O. Accessed February 7, 2026. https://opencasebook.org/casebooks/455-food-law-casebook-clone-test/resources/1.1.1.1-american-farm-bureau-federation-v-united-states-environmental-protection-agency/.
5. “Minnesota county wants feedlot sites kept secret.” Animal Liberation. April 25, 2003. Accessed February 7, 2026. https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2003/04/25/16040781.php.
6. “Stop Animal Protection Laws From Being Overturned.” Compassionate Action for Animals. Accessed February 7, 2026. https://caa.mn/stop-fsfpa/.
7. Piper, Kelsey. “Want to help animals? Focus on corporate decisions, not people’s plates.” Vox. January 29, 2019. Accessed February 7, 2026. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/10/31/18026418/vegan-vegetarian-animal-welfare-corporate-advocacy.
8. “APA Grant Recipients.” Animal Policy Alliance. Accessed February 7, 2026. https://animalpolicyalliance.org/grantrecipients.
9. Anderst, Brenna. “THL HQ Celebrating this year’s Animal Policy Alliance grant recipients.” The Humane League. April 11, 2025. Accessed February 7, 2026. https://thehumaneleague.org/article/animal-policy-alliance-2025-grant-recipients.
10. “Announcing Our Spring 2019 Effective Animal Advocacy Fund Grants.” Animal Chairty Evaluators. Accessed February 7, 2026. https://animalcharityevaluators.org/blog/announcing-our-spring-2019-eaa-fund-grants/.