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PRESS

Animal Activist Sentenced to Three Months in Jail for Open Rescue

November 30, 2023

Plant-Based News

From his jail cell, where he was held for four weeks awaiting sentencing, Hsiung published blog posts reaffirming his belief in the power of non-violent direct action. He also reported successes in educating fellow inmates on veganism and animal rights.

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PRESS

Animal Activist Sentenced to Three Months in Jail for Open Rescue

November 30, 2023

Plant-Based News

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PRESS

Conviction of Leading Animal Activist Could Ignite a Populist Revolution

November 23, 2023

Countercurrents

The conviction of Hsuing could be a flashpoint in this “next frontier.” Because it shows just how broken the legal system is, his story could help advance the development of a grassroots movement to liberate nonhuman animals. It also presents us with a choice: Live in a system where the government ignores animal cruelty laws—or save the animals those laws were meant to protect.

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PRESS

Conviction of Leading Animal Activist Could Ignite a Populist Revolution

November 23, 2023

Countercurrents

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PRESS

The Turkey Pardon Is a Perfect Emblem of Our Very Dumb Politics

November 22, 2023

The New Republic

Virtually all turkeys raised in the United States come from crowded concentrated feeding operations—CAFOs, or factory farms. Investigations by animal rights groups like Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, have shown that the same farms that provide the well-groomed, handsome birds for White House events raise the rest of their animals in hellish conditions.

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PRESS

The Turkey Pardon Is a Perfect Emblem of Our Very Dumb Politics

November 22, 2023

The New Republic

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PRESS

Hero for Rescuing a Dog, But Facing Prison for Rescuing Birds

November 22, 2023

Common Dreams

I hate seeing Wayne go through this. I’m tired of the legal maneuverings by those with power to maintain a world that hurts the most vulnerable.

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PRESS

Hero for Rescuing a Dog, But Facing Prison for Rescuing Birds

November 22, 2023

Common Dreams

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PRESS

An Animal Activist Was Found Guilty After Rescuing Farmed Animals – Here’s Why He Did It

November 16, 2023

Plant-Based News

“Open rescue is one of the most powerful tools that we have to challenge animal cruelty," [said animal rescuer Zoe Rosenberg]. “When you look into a factory farm and you see thousands of animals suffering, it’s so easy to desensitize yourself and get lost in the numbers and the immeasurable suffering. But when you identify an individual and connect with them, it’s life changing. Every single one of those animals in those facilities is an individual.”

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PRESS

An Animal Activist Was Found Guilty After Rescuing Farmed Animals – Here’s Why He Did It

November 16, 2023

Plant-Based News

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PRESS

Animal Rights Defender Wayne Hsiung Convicted of Felony for Rescuing Factory Farm Animals

November 13, 2023

Democracy Now!

“If you or I tortured an individual dog, we would clearly be subject to the criminal laws of the state of California. Yet, when a factory farm does this on massive scale, on a scale a million times larger than an individual person abusing a single animal, it’s seen as industry standard, and therefore completely immune from prosecution.”

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PRESS

Animal Rights Defender Wayne Hsiung Convicted of Felony for Rescuing Factory Farm Animals

November 13, 2023

Democracy Now!

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PRESS

Commentary: Farm Bureau Tries to Stifle Citizen-Led Initiative

November 10, 2023

Petaluma Argus Courier

We can work together to start the transition away from these destructive factory farms and use our collective power to build a better world.

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PRESS

Commentary: Farm Bureau Tries to Stifle Citizen-Led Initiative

November 10, 2023

Petaluma Argus Courier

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TOP PRESS

You’re More Likely to Go to Prison for Exposing Animal Cruelty Than for Committing It

November 9, 2023

Vox

Hsiung’s trial and conviction show the extraordinary difficulty of trying to discuss what happens to animals on factory farms in a legal system that only sees them as property. At both factory farms in this case, DxE had documented gruesome conditions prior to their open rescue actions and had submitted animal cruelty complaints to authorities (though no action was taken by legal officials, King said). Yet it was the activists, not the farm owners, who were criminally charged and had to explain themselves to a jury.

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TOP PRESS

You’re More Likely to Go to Prison for Exposing Animal Cruelty Than for Committing It

November 9, 2023

Vox

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TOP PRESS

This Is the Ops Manual for the Most Tech-Savvy Animal Liberation Group in the US

November 8, 2023

Wired

For the first time, guerrilla animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere reveals a guide to its investigative tactics and toolkit, from spy cams to night vision and drones. Bernier says that DxE decided to publicly release its guide, even in the wake of Hsiung’s conviction, to help activists who are already committed to carrying out covert investigations do their work more safely and effectively.

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TOP PRESS

This Is the Ops Manual for the Most Tech-Savvy Animal Liberation Group in the US

November 8, 2023

Wired

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Our Top Press Hits

TOP PRESS

Stealing Lauri

August 4, 2019

The New York Times

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TOP PRESS

Protestors collect secret cash to oppose fur ban proposed in California, documents reveal

July 10, 2019

The Intercept

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TOP PRESS

Meet the Animal Rights Activists Facing Prison Time for Rescuing Ducks, Piglets from Factory Farms

June 6, 2019

Democracy Now!

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TOP PRESS

They Rescued Pigs and Turkeys from Factory Farms - and Now Face Decades in Prison

December 23, 2018

The Intercept

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TOP PRESS

Activists Briefly Occupy Amazon Chicken Supplier to Treat ‘Sick, Starving’ Birds

September 29, 2018

Forbes

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TOP PRESS

Animal Rights Activists Face Multiple Felony Charges, Brought by Prosecutors With Ties to Smithfield Foods

June 7, 2018

The Intercept

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TOP PRESS

39 Arrested Protesting Industrial Farm Supplying So-Called "Cage-Free" Eggs to Amazon and Whole Foods

May 30, 2018

Democracy Now!

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TOP PRESS

Animal rights activists who removed two piglets from factory farm charged after FBI raids

May 25, 2018

The Washington Post

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TOP PRESS

Bred to Suffer: Inside the Barbaric U.S. Industry of Dog Experimentation

May 17, 2018

The Intercept

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DxE's Blog

BLOG

If Rescuing a Suffering Animal Is a Crime, What Does That Make the System?

July 14, 2026

The prosecutorial viewpoint seems to be at odds with a growing public expectation that animals raised for food should not be left to suffer — and aggressive marketing (in this case, “humanewashing”) often deceives consumers into thinking they’re making the right purchasing choices.

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BLOG

The Press Won't Link California's Elephant Seal Deaths to Factory Farms

May 28, 2026

The elephant seals at Año Nuevo are dying because they share beaches with infected seabirds — infected because H5N1 has become endemic in wild bird populations worldwide, a spread driven in significant part by the concentration and global trade of farmed poultry.

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BLOG

“Make Sure It’s a F***ing Felony": What Happened at the Preliminary Hearing in the Meyenberg Rescue Case

May 20, 2026

Deputies testified that they never investigated the animal cruelty allegations at the dairy or referred them to any agency, despite being told about dead and suffering animals on site. One officer even defended the facility by claiming that “you can go to any dairy, anywhere in the country, and there will be dead goats there.”

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BLOG

How Pepper Spray Can Save Puppies

April 22, 2026

Open rescue as a strategy is not just about getting a few animals out of their cages, it is also about creating a crisis that can no longer be ignored. It is about forcing the public and people in power to choose a side.

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BLOG

An Open Letter Responding to Western United Dairies' Disinformation

March 19, 2026

The dairy industry trade group's CEO, Anja Raudabaugh, spread blatant lies about animal rights activists on a recent podcast discussing DxE's latest project, FactoryFarmWatch.org. This blog corrects the record and invites Ms. Raudabaugh to engage in an honest and transparent conversation.

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BLOG

Exposing Big Ag with Factory Farm Watch

February 19, 2026

Factory Farm Watch is more than a map. It is a launchpad for statewide action to end factory farming.

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BLOG

ALC India Was a Huge Success!

February 6, 2026

A summary of the first annual Animal Liberation Conference in India, co-hosted by DxE and Indore Animal Liberation

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BLOG

An Open Letter to My Judge

January 4, 2026

I think the public has made it resoundingly clear that they feel Perdue should be prosecuted for its crimes. I hope you'll take that into consideration and use your power as a judge to do some good for these animals. 

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BLOG

Zoe's Reflections on Animal Rising's Beagle Rescue Trial Verdict

December 18, 2025

No prosecution, conviction, or sentence, will ever stop a movement driven by compassion and care.

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Our Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE

Valadao Dairy Linked to Criminal Animal Cruelty

October 1, 2026

Factory farm investigators with the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) just confirmed that Valadao Dairy, owned by Congressman David Valadao's family, sends newborn dairy calves to Grimmius Cattle Company, California's largest calf-raising operation where DxE investigators have recorded sick baby cows being dragged from a trailer and shot in the head.

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Bay Area Residents March in Support of U.S. Bill to End Federal Funding of Dog and Cat Experiments

September 26, 2026

With the group were several rescued lab beagles. The demonstration, which was organized by the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), aimed to raise awareness about the COMPACT Act (H.R.10522), a bipartisan bill that was introduced on Wednesday to end federal funding for experiments on dogs and cats.

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PRESS RELEASE

Judge Grants Diversion in Goat Rescue Case, Over Prosecution’s Objection

September 23, 2026

At a hearing last month, Judge Jim Trevino reduced all of the felony charges to misdemeanors after reviewing a defense filing detailing evidence of significant animal cruelty at the dairy, calling the filing persuasive. After today’s judicial diversion, all charges will be dismissed following completion of 40 hours of community service and 5 months probation. 

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PRESS RELEASE

Drone Video Shows Animal Abuse at Dairy Behind Pizza Hut, Domino's Cheese

September 21, 2026

Workers at California's largest dairy operation were recorded hitting and kicking young calves in the face in July. In another part of the facility, footage shows a worker whipping adult cows to move them toward the milking barn.

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PRESS RELEASE

Drone Video Shows Calf Abuse at Madera Calf Ranch

September 18, 2026

The drone footage shows workers pushing and pulling newborn calves from a trailer, kicking them to make them stand, and throwing them into small, individual crates, which are a common form of intensive confinement used in the calf-raising industry.

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Activists Protest Petco to Demand End of Live Animals Sales, Following Exposé of Cruelty at Parakeet Breeding Mill

September 5, 2026

Protesters entered the store with signs reading “Someone Not Something” and “Stop Selling Animals,” as well as trash cans overflowing with plush parakeets, rubber snakes, and rubber mice to represent how Petco treats animals like trash, based on images from multiple recent investigations of breeders that sell to Petco.

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PRESS RELEASE

Judge Reduces All Felonies to Misdemeanors in Goat Rescue Case

August 25, 2026

The ruling comes in response to a filing earlier this month detailing evidence of significant animal cruelty at the dairy. The judge also ordered that the District Attorney’s office disclose evidence of DA Sarah Hacker’s relationship with the owners of the dairy farm property involved in the prosecution against these animal rescuers.

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Activists Protest Whole Foods Goat Milk Supplier’s Cruelty with Giant “Bloody” Milk Carton and “Die-In”

August 22, 2026

The protest featured a 10-foot-tall milk carton prop modeled after Meyenberg packaging, but with an image of the dead pile of goats documented at Meyenberg’s Vera Goat Dairy and with red streamers symbolizing the animals’ blood flowing out from the top of the carton.

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PRESS RELEASE

Defense Submits Animal Cruelty Evidence in Goat Rescue Case

August 11, 2026

Today, defense attorneys for four goat rescuers charged in Kings County filed evidence with the court of animal cruelty at the Whole Foods-supplying goat dairy at the heart of the case. They have submitted a motion requesting that Judge Jim Trevino reduce the felony charges to misdemeanors.

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