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Animal Rights Activists, Dressed as Factory Workers, Take Chickens from Petaluma Poultry Facility

June 13, 2023

KTVU Fox Bay Area

The group said there have been documented instances of "birds collapsed on the floor or stuck on their backs and unable to walk to food or water, left to slowly starve to death; birds with splayed legs; birds with open wounds."

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PRESS

Animal Rights Activists, Dressed as Factory Workers, Take Chickens from Petaluma Poultry Facility

June 13, 2023

KTVU Fox Bay Area

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PRESS RELEASE

Waves of People Rescue Sick Animals from Perdue's Petaluma Poultry Slaughterhouse, Following an Investigation Finding Rampant Abuse and Disease

June 13, 2023

Hundreds are gathered outside the slaughterhouse calling on the Sonoma County District Attorney to prosecute Petaluma Poultry for documented criminal animal cruelty and infectious diseases that are endangering public health

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PRESS RELEASE

Waves of People Rescue Sick Animals from Perdue's Petaluma Poultry Slaughterhouse, Following an Investigation Finding Rampant Abuse and Disease

June 13, 2023

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PRESS

Animal Liberation Marchers 'Rescue' 4 Mice and a Betta Fish From Pet Store

June 10, 2023

SF Gate

The activists said the live mice are typically sold to be fed to predators, while betta fish come from breeding factories.

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PRESS

Animal Liberation Marchers 'Rescue' 4 Mice and a Betta Fish From Pet Store

June 10, 2023

SF Gate

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PRESS RELEASE

Mice and Fish Rescued from Petco During Animal Liberation March in San Francisco

June 10, 2023

While hundreds rallied in support of the right to rescue animals from abuse, a few activists delivered “feeder” mice and suffering betta fish to safety.

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PRESS RELEASE

Mice and Fish Rescued from Petco During Animal Liberation March in San Francisco

June 10, 2023

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BLOG

A Letter to the Editor Re: "Churchill Downs to Cease Racing as It Investigates Deaths of Horses"

June 5, 2023

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BLOG

A Letter to the Editor Re: "Churchill Downs to Cease Racing as It Investigates Deaths of Horses"

June 5, 2023

Your story on the shutdown of the Kentucky Derby racetrack failed to provide important context: the growing worldwide movement to abolish horseracing.

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PRESS

Bay Area Animal Activists Call for Golden Gate Fields to Shut Down after Horse Deaths

June 3, 2023

ABC7 News

"[Horses being killed is] just inherent to the industry. These horses are bred for racing, they're fed for racing, they're drugged for racing. Everything about the way that they're raised is for profit, not for their well-being," Cassie King said.

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PRESS

Bay Area Animal Activists Call for Golden Gate Fields to Shut Down after Horse Deaths

June 3, 2023

ABC7 News

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PRESS RELEASE

Trial Finally Scheduled for Animal Rights Activists Facing Felonies for Rescues in Sonoma County

May 31, 2023

Recent similar trials in St. George, UT and Merced, CA resulted in groundbreaking acquittals for open rescuers.

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PRESS RELEASE

Trial Finally Scheduled for Animal Rights Activists Facing Felonies for Rescues in Sonoma County

May 31, 2023

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BLOG

Free Speech under Attack in Rural America

May 23, 2023

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BLOG

Free Speech under Attack in Rural America

May 23, 2023

During my time in Utah, I found people willing to have open and honest discussions. Why, then, are high-ranking members of the Church and the police attempting to stop that from happening? Could it be that egregious abuses documented by DxE at Smithfield were getting too close to those in power? When open dialogue threatens a power structure, it’s time to scrutinize that power structure.

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PRESS

Injured Horse Euthanized at Golden Gate Fields; 8th Horse to Die at Track in 2023

May 22, 2023

CBS Bay Area

"No legitimate sport would tolerate the deaths of 28 of its athletes in 20 weeks in just one state," said Martha Sullivan of the organization Kill Racing Not Horses.

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PRESS

Injured Horse Euthanized at Golden Gate Fields; 8th Horse to Die at Track in 2023

May 22, 2023

CBS Bay Area

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Our Top Press Hits

TOP PRESS

California Activist Gets Jail Time for Taking Chickens from Perdue Farms Plant

December 4, 2025

The Associated Press

Zoe Rosenberg, 23, did not deny taking the animals from Petaluma Poultry but argued she wasn’t breaking the law because she was rescuing the birds from a cruel situation.

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TOP PRESS

UC Berkeley Animal Rights Activist to Serve Jail Time After ‘Chicken Rescue’ Conviction

December 3, 2025

San Francisco Chronicle

“They’re denying that any of this suffering is happening,” she said. “We have been calling on the California Attorney General to take action, because the Sonoma County District Attorney’s office has made it abundantly clear that they do not care about these animals whatsoever.” Her supporters cheered and yelled out promises to not give up defending animals.

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TOP PRESS

She Said She Was Rescuing Chickens. A Jury Convicted Her of Conspiracy.

October 29, 2025

The New York Times

The four chickens she took with her — whom she named Poppy, Ivy, Aster and Azalea — are alive at a sanctuary for rescued farm animals, she said. “I will not apologize for taking sick, neglected animals to get medical care,” Ms. Rosenberg said in a statement. “When we see cruelty and violence, we can choose to ignore it or to intervene and try to make the world a better place.”

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TOP PRESS

UC Berkeley Animal Rights Activist Found Guilty in ‘Chicken Rescue’ Trial

October 29, 2025

San Francisco Chronicle

But even if the appellate court doesn’t reverse Rosenberg’s conviction, she likely won’t regret having risked prison time to force a trial. Her trial, by some measures, was still a success. Several national publications — including The New York Times and the Associated Press — covered it, raising awareness of DxE’s goal to eradicate America’s factory-farming industry by 2040.

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TOP PRESS

California Woman on Trial for Taking Chickens from Perdue Farms' Plant Says She Was Rescuing Them

October 28, 2025

The Associated Press

A California animal rights activist on trial for taking four chickens from one of Perdue Farms’ major poultry plants said Tuesday that she was rescuing Poppy, Ivy, Aster, and Azalea from abuse while prosecutors say she broke the law.

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TOP PRESS

She Took Chickens from a Slaughterhouse. Was It a Rescue or a Crime?

October 24, 2025

The Guardian

I asked Rosenberg what outcome she was hoping for. “My ideal outcome is honestly just whatever is best for the animals,” she said. “An acquittal wouldn’t set an actual legal precedent, but it would set a social precedent, to some extent, and send an important message.”

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TOP PRESS

UC Berkeley Activist Testifies She Saved Sick Birds, Not Stole Them, in Chicken Rescue Trial

October 17, 2025

San Francisco Chronicle

Before a jury in a Sonoma County courthouse, Rosenberg testified that she believed at the time that her actions, often called “open rescue,” were “lawfully justified” to prevent what she considered “criminal animal abuse” by Petaluma Poultry, a Sonoma-based operation owned by Perdue Farms, a major poultry supplier nationwide.

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TOP PRESS

Berkeley Grad’s Chicken ‘Rescue’ Trial Begins in Sonoma County with Question of Intent vs. Crime

October 6, 2025

San Francisco Chronicle

Though Rosenberg is technically the one on trial, they plan to force a deep review of the often-unsavory practices occurring at meat-processing facilities across the country.

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TOP PRESS

How the Farm Industry Spied on Animal Rights Activists and Pushed the FBI to Treat Them as Bioterrorists

June 3, 2025

Wired Magazine

Hundreds of emails and internal documents reviewed by WIRED reveal top lobbyists and representatives of America’s agricultural industry led a persistent and often covert campaign to surveil, discredit, and suppress animal rights organizations for nearly a decade, while relying on corporate spies to infiltrate meetings and functionally serve as an informant for the FBI.

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DxE's Blog

BLOG

The largest pig slaughterhouse in California is shutting down.

July 2, 2022

Here's what this could mean.

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BLOG

Activists display massive 100 foot banner on overpass calling on Golden Gate Fields to shut down

June 25, 2022

The protest occurred after yet another horse was killed at the horse racing track that spans Berkeley and Albany.

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BLOG

DxE activists talk with Senator Cory Booker about upcoming Smithfield trial

June 25, 2022

Senator Booker spoke about the need for nonviolent direct action and for "not being spectators in democracy!"

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BLOG

As Farmer John Slaughterhouse Closes, Our Work Must Continue

June 14, 2022

As happy as I am to see Smithfield leave California, they should not be allowed to simply cut and run. They must adequately compensate their workers, provide appropriate care for their pigs, and clean up the damage done to the surrounding community and to the L.A. river.

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BLOG

Tulare County Dairy Farms Are Poisoning Latino Communities

May 20, 2022

Over the last few decades, the Central Valley of California has become plagued by the crisis of dirty drinking water contaminated with nitrates. Latino communities have been disproportionately affected. In the heart of the valley lies Tulare County, a majority Latino district and the largest dairy producing county in the nation.

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BLOG

The Case for Systemic Change

May 5, 2022

This is a response to a recent study by Faunalytics regarding the impacts of protest on diet change.

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BLOG

Glue, Chains, and Guts: A Recipe for Virality

April 14, 2022

High profile sporting events pose a significant opportunity to get eyeballs on a topic– if one is bold enough to risk criminal charges and bodily harm. And it's a tactic that has been used throughout history.

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BLOG

5 Tips for Time Management and Organization

February 2, 2022

Tip #1: You need an organizational system that you understand and use every day.

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BLOG

Stories to Inspire Part 3

January 8, 2022

These stories first appeared in a series of emails sent to DxE supporters in a countdown to 2022. The stories recap some of our biggest achievements in 2021, and also shine a light on some of the little details that don’t usually get the appreciation they deserve. We hope you find them as inspiring as we do.

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Our Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Advocates Rally at Governor’s Office to Pardon Activist Jailed for Rescuing 4 Chickens

December 17, 2025

A representative for Governor Newsom’s office spoke with the activists rallying today and said the governor is aware of the petition and looking into it. She said, “We hope she’s ok,” acknowledging the danger Ms. Rosenberg faces in jail.

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Activists March Demanding the Release of Animal Rescuer from Jail

December 13, 2025

Zoe Rosenberg is jailed in Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility after being sentenced last week to 90 days in jail for rescuing four suffering chickens from Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Activists Protest Trader Joe’s Over Supplier Tied to Jailing of Animal Rescuer Zoe Rosenberg

December 6, 2025

Demonstrators urged the grocery chain to cut ties with Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry, with placards showing recent conditions of Petaluma Poultry operations

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PRESS RELEASE

Animal Rescuer Zoe Rosenberg Sentenced to 90 Days in Custody for Saving Chickens Worth $24

December 3, 2025

Today, animal rescuer Zoe Rosenberg was sentenced to 90 days in custody for saving four chickens from Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse. She will become eligible for jail alternatives for the final 60 days of her sentence.

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PRESS RELEASE

Joaquin Phoenix Condemns Prosecution of Animal Rescuer in Sonoma County, Calls for Prosecution of Animal Cruelty

November 24, 2025

Oscar-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix is urging the Sonoma County District Attorney to prosecute animal cruelty at Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse, after her office has ignored repeated reports of documented animal cruelty at the company’s factory farms and slaughterhouse.

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PRESS RELEASE

Activists Hold Vigil Outside Trader Joe's-Supplying Slaughterhouse in the Wake of Chicken Rescuer Conviction

November 8, 2025

DxE is calling for Petaluma Poultry to be prosecuted for scalding birds alive, citing that California’s animal cruelty law prohibits inflicting unnecessary cruelty on an animal.

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PRESS RELEASE

Animal Advocates Urge Attorney General Bonta to Prosecute Petaluma Poultry for Criminal Animal Abuse

November 5, 2025

Zoe Rosenberg spoke at the AG’s Office on Wednesday, saying, “Sonoma County’s District Attorney’s Office is not doing anything to address the criminal animal cruelty. Instead, they spent the last two years prosecuting me.”

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PRESS RELEASE

Activist Convicted of Felony for Rescuing Chickens from Perdue Slaughterhouse

October 29, 2025

At trial, the court severely limited what the jury was able to know about these prior findings at Petaluma Poultry, despite the fact that they heavily influenced Ms. Rosenberg’s belief that rescue was necessary.

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PRESS RELEASE

Animal Rights Activists March in Petaluma During Felony Animal Rescue Trial

September 20, 2025

"I believe Zoe did the right thing by taking sick animals to the vet," said Sharon Loren of Penngrove, who joined the march. "Compassion should never be a crime, but it's on trial here in Sonoma County."

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