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Former ‘Baywatch’ Actress Alexandra Paul ‘Not Guilty’ in Foster Farms Case in Merced

March 17, 2023

Fresno Bee

“I will continue to do my investigatory work if I find a sick animal,” she said. “I can’t rescue them all. And we are hoping that public opinion will be the thing that turns the tide. People are realizing this is wrong, and we can’t do this anymore.”

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PRESS

Former ‘Baywatch’ Actress Alexandra Paul ‘Not Guilty’ in Foster Farms Case in Merced

March 17, 2023

Fresno Bee

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PRESS

Trial Begins For ‘Baywatch’ Star Who Rescued Chickens Destined For Slaughter

March 10, 2023

Plant Based News

In September 2021, Paul and Santurio took two chickens from the truck before carrying them to a waiting car. Footage of the “open rescue” (a rescue of which details are made publicly available) was subsequently released by DxE.

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PRESS

Trial Begins For ‘Baywatch’ Star Who Rescued Chickens Destined For Slaughter

March 10, 2023

Plant Based News

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PRESS

Judge Axes ‘Necessity Defense’ in Chicken Rescue Case, But Rules in Defense Favor Otherwise

March 10, 2023

Davis Vanguard

A potentially historic trial for establishing animal rights involving a former “Baywatch” and movie actress moved along – albeit slowly – in Merced County Superior Court this week as jury selection dragged into Friday, and Judge Paul Lo made several key rulings that could change the course of the proceedings.

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PRESS

Judge Axes ‘Necessity Defense’ in Chicken Rescue Case, But Rules in Defense Favor Otherwise

March 10, 2023

Davis Vanguard

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TOP PRESS

‘Baywatch’s’ Alexandra Paul on Trial; Video Shows ‘Open Rescue’ of Foster Farms Chickens

March 9, 2023

LA Times

“We published this video within an hour with both my name and Alicia Santurio’s name attached to it because we believe what we’re doing is legal and morally right,” Paul said in an interview with The Times.

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TOP PRESS

‘Baywatch’s’ Alexandra Paul on Trial; Video Shows ‘Open Rescue’ of Foster Farms Chickens

March 9, 2023

LA Times

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PRESS

Jury Selection Begins for Activists Accused of Stealing Chickens from Foster Farms

March 7, 2023

ABC 30

Their supporters gathered outside the courthouse to urge the district attorney's office to focus on Foster Farms rather than the activists, who they believe had the right to rescue the animals.

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PRESS

Jury Selection Begins for Activists Accused of Stealing Chickens from Foster Farms

March 7, 2023

ABC 30

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PRESS

Merced Trial over ‘Rescue’ of Slaughterhouse-Bound Chickens Features ‘Baywatch’ Star as Accused, and Maybe Other Hollywood Actors

March 6, 2023

Davis Vanguard

A trial slated to start here in Merced County Superior Court March 7 is of the most unusual kind—first, one of the accused is a Hollywood actress who is itching for trial and has refused all plea offers; second, the case involves the “rescue” of chickens destined for a slaughterhouse; and, three, large corporate agricultural businesses are intimately involved.

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PRESS

Merced Trial over ‘Rescue’ of Slaughterhouse-Bound Chickens Features ‘Baywatch’ Star as Accused, and Maybe Other Hollywood Actors

March 6, 2023

Davis Vanguard

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PRESS RELEASE

Residents Protest Golden Gate Fields After Third Horse Death in 2023

March 4, 2023

“The racing industry gives horses ridiculous names like “Big Laugh” because the suffering of these animals is just a game to them,” said DxE organizer Kitty Jones. “We give them respectful names because we see them as individuals worthy of respect.”

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PRESS RELEASE

Residents Protest Golden Gate Fields After Third Horse Death in 2023

March 4, 2023

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PRESS

In Wauwatosa, Residents and Animal Rights Activists Are Fighting the City over How to Deal with Nuisance Coyotes

March 2, 2023

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"(Coyotes) are a critical part of our urban ecology and ecosystem, so they can't be removed," said [protest organizer Megan] Scott. "I think we all need to coexist together. It's just natural, and you can't control one animal's destiny for your own benefit."

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PRESS

In Wauwatosa, Residents and Animal Rights Activists Are Fighting the City over How to Deal with Nuisance Coyotes

March 2, 2023

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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PRESS

Opinion: Who Decides Which Animals Deserve Love and Compassion and Which Ones Don’t?

February 27, 2023

Sonoma County Gazette

I wonder why we differentiate between a chicken that is a “pet” and a chicken that is in a factory farm. Both are equally capable of feeling love, joy, sorrow, and pain. Is it that one has been reduced to “poultry” – a commodity – rather than the living, breathing, sentient being that it really is?

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PRESS

Opinion: Who Decides Which Animals Deserve Love and Compassion and Which Ones Don’t?

February 27, 2023

Sonoma County Gazette

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Our Top Press Hits

TOP PRESS

Animal Rights Group’s Video of Hens Raises Questions, but Not Just for Farms

January 8, 2015

The New York Times

An animal rights group released on Thursday a disturbing video of laying hens at a farm in Northern California that supplies eggs to Whole Foods and Organic Valley, among other retailers and distributors.

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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

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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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Calves Kicked, Pulled at Merced County Calf Ranch Linked to Major Cheese Company

July 27, 2026

Factory farm investigators with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) used drones to document cruel handling of calves at 140 Cattle Co., a calf-raising operation linked to Hilmar Cheese Company, one of the largest cheese producers in the U.S.

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Activists Protest Petco for Selling Live Animals

July 18, 2026

Activists first protested silently next to the animals on display inside Petco in San Rafael, and then loudly outside the store, urging Petco to end the retail sale of animals at all locations.

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PRESS RELEASE

LA's Upscale Grocery Chain Erewhon Drops Meyenberg Goat Milk Amidst Animal Cruelty Concerns

June 30, 2026

Direct Action Everywhere Los Angeles campaigned to urge the grocery chain to cut ties with Meyenberg, after the group’s investigation at a Meyenberg dairy exposed emaciated, ill goats and an illegal dead pile

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Activists Disrupt Clover Ice Cream Truck at Petaluma Fair to Highlight Cruelty at Clover-Linked Calf Ranch

June 22, 2026

A DxE drone investigation released in May shows calves kicked in the face, yanked by their tails, and disbudded with hot irons at Agresti Calf Ranch in Stanislaus County. The facility is owned by the Agresti-Assali family which also owns the adjacent Clover Sonoma milk supplier Double D Dairies. DxE investigators witnessed calves from Double D Dairies being transported to Agresti Calf Ranch.

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Activists Protest Petco for Selling Live Animals as Campaign Grows to Ban Retail Animal Sales

June 20, 2026

With Bay Area cities moving to ban the retail sale of animals, animal rights activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) are turning up the pressure on one of the Bay’s biggest pet retailers: Petco. Dozens of activists with DxE, PETA, and other groups protested inside and outside Petco in San Mateo Saturday afternoon.

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