DxE investigator and animal rescuer Zoe Rosenberg is on trial in Sonoma County, California. She is facing years in jail for rescuing four sick and injured chickens from Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse. All media has been denied access to the courtroom, but you can follow along through these Court Watch summaries, on our Perdue Rescue Trial X account, on our Instagram, and on UnchainedTV. Check back regularly for new updates. Want to take action? Sign the petition at RightToRescue.com and share the news with your friends and family.

Monday, September 15th
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Monday court covered pre-trial motions, which will determine how trial will unfold, including which witnesses will be allowed to testify and about what. The key decisions made by the judge today included that witnesses unfortunately will not be allowed to testify about investigations that occurred prior to 2023 or that occurred at facilities other than the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse, but that Zoe will be allowed to talk in a limited way about how these investigations influenced her beliefs and motivation. This includes how the decision by Sonoma County law enforcement to allow the rescue of Rose, one injured bird from a Petaluma Poultry factory farm, shaped her belief in the legal right to rescue animals. 

The judge also ruled that evidence regarding the conditions of the birds rescued by Zoe from the slaughterhouse will be allowed! Carla Cabral, the primary caretaker of the birds after they were rescued, will be allowed to testify, and it is very hopeful that their veterinary records will be allowed to be introduced as well. 

A lot of issues related to witnesses and their testimony were left unanswered and Judge Gnoss indicated that he will hold “402” hearings. In these hearings, attorneys will argue about the testimony in advance outside the presence of the jury. 

One other update is that Zoe is getting her ankle monitor removed. The judge agreed to the removal after Zoe’s attorney, Chris Carraway, argued that requiring Zoe to wear the monitor in the presence of the jury could bias them against her. 

Thanks for following along!

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