News

Breaking news and publications from Direct Action Everywhere.

Media inquiry? Please email press@dxe.io.

Featured

All News

PRESS

Activists Protest 4th Horse Death in Two Weeks at Golden Gate Fields

October 3, 2023

KTVU/Fox 2

"It's tragic, but it's not that surprising," [activist] Paul Darwin Picklesimer said. "The deaths are just simply inherent. No matter what they do, there are always going to be deaths."

Read More

PRESS

Activists Protest 4th Horse Death in Two Weeks at Golden Gate Fields

October 3, 2023

KTVU/Fox 2

Read More

BLOG

A Baby Chicken Taught Me to Never Give Up Hope. His Name is Vincent.

October 1, 2023

Read More

BLOG

A Baby Chicken Taught Me to Never Give Up Hope. His Name is Vincent.

October 1, 2023

To everyone who doesn’t believe in a better world, I understand. I feel your pain and I know how hard it is to keep going in a world as painful as ours. But, just a glimmer of hope saved Vincent’s life and it might just save the rest of the animals, too. So please, don’t give up.

Read More

PRESS

COURT WATCH: 2nd California Animal Rights Trial Involving ‘Open Rescue’ Ongoing in Santa Rosa

September 25, 2023

Davis Vanguard

Hsiung is proceeding to trial as his own attorney, facing multiple felony conspiracy charges for his involvement in mass protests where hundreds of activists openly rescued animals at factory farms in Sonoma County in 2018 and 2019.

Read More

PRESS

COURT WATCH: 2nd California Animal Rights Trial Involving ‘Open Rescue’ Ongoing in Santa Rosa

September 25, 2023

Davis Vanguard

Read More

PRESS

1 of 2 Activists Accused of Stealing Livestock from Petaluma Farms Reaches Deal

September 22, 2023

Press Democrat

Priya Sawhney pleaded no contest to two counts of trespassing and was ordered to do 100 hours of community service through the Sonoma County Volunteer Center.

Read More

PRESS

1 of 2 Activists Accused of Stealing Livestock from Petaluma Farms Reaches Deal

September 22, 2023

Press Democrat

Read More

PRESS

Radical Vegans Are Trying to Change Your Diet

September 20, 2023

The Atlantic

Everything, everywhere in this farm for “free-range” chickens was covered in excrement. The industrial hangar was so enormous, filled with so many clone-birds, that I felt like I was staring into an infinity mirror.

Read More

PRESS

Radical Vegans Are Trying to Change Your Diet

September 20, 2023

The Atlantic

Read More

PRESS

Gag Order on DxE Activists Upheld Despite Calls to Vacate from Berkeley Law Dean, ACLU

September 19, 2023

Daily Californian

"I hope that I’ll be able to testify to the sickness of the ducklings and the hens who are rescued,” [witness Zoe] Rosenberg said. “I think that’s essential information for the jury to hear, and I hope the judge allows that information to be heard.”

Read More

PRESS

Gag Order on DxE Activists Upheld Despite Calls to Vacate from Berkeley Law Dean, ACLU

September 19, 2023

Daily Californian

Read More

PRESS

Awaited Trial of Bay Area Animal Rights Activists Begins

September 11, 2023

Northern California Public Media

An absolved King addressed the court, saying “I don’t believe I’ve done anything wrong by trying to help suffering animals."

Read More

PRESS

Awaited Trial of Bay Area Animal Rights Activists Begins

September 11, 2023

Northern California Public Media

Read More

PRESS

Animal Rights Protesters Go on Trial in Sonoma County

September 8, 2023

CBS Bay Area

A trial about the right to rescue began Friday in the North Bay where animal-rights activists are being prosecuted after taking several ducks and chickens from a farm in Petaluma. Anne Makovec reports.

Read More

PRESS

Animal Rights Protesters Go on Trial in Sonoma County

September 8, 2023

CBS Bay Area

Read More

PRESS

Animal Welfare Group Rallies Outside Sonoma County Courthouse as Criminal Case Against Activists Advances

September 8, 2023

Press Democrat

King said the rally represented the “continued momentum and urgency” to respond to animal cruelty. “People aren’t giving up.”

Read More

PRESS

Animal Welfare Group Rallies Outside Sonoma County Courthouse as Criminal Case Against Activists Advances

September 8, 2023

Press Democrat

Read More

Our Top Press Hits

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.”

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.”

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

TOP PRESS

How the FBI and Big Ag Started Treating Animal Rights Activists as Bioterrorists

June 2, 2025

The Intercept

“Animal rights and environmental groups have committed more acts of terrorism than Al Qaeda,” warned an FBI agent who met with Big Ag groups.

Read More

TOP PRESS

This California Student Could Go to Prison for Taking Four Chickens. Was It a Crime or a ‘Rescue’?

May 1, 2025

San Francisco Chronicle

Just four months after she graduates on May 17 with a bachelor’s degree in social movement strategy, the straight-A student will stand trial in a Sonoma County courtroom for her June 2023 incursion into Petaluma Poultry, a processing facility owned by agribusiness giant Perdue Farms. If convicted for taking four chickens Perdue valued at around $24, she faces up to 5½ years in prison.

Read More

TOP PRESS

These California and Colorado Ballot Measures Are Terrifying the Meat Industry

October 10, 2024

Vox

In principle, there’s a lot of sense in capping the size of factory farms. Measure J’s proponents are betting that progressive Sonoma County, better known for its tasting rooms than its slaughterhouses, can push California — and the nation — in that direction.

Read More

DxE's Blog

BLOG

Confused by "let dairy die"? Good.

March 5, 2020

Read More

BLOG

Why Should I Support and Visit Animal Sanctuaries?

September 18, 2019

Read More

BLOG

With trial approaching, I’m stepping down from all leadership positions at DxE. Here’s why that’s a good thing.

August 7, 2019

Read More

BLOG

Tips for Self-Care as an Activist

July 22, 2019

Read More

BLOG

Activists Return to Petaluma Slaughterhouse, Site of 79 Felony Arrests Last Month

July 5, 2019

Read More

BLOG

I messed up. So did DxE.

June 18, 2019

Read More

BLOG

Is the San Francisco Fur Ban Working?

January 15, 2019

Read More

BLOG

Are YOU Banned from Whole Foods?

December 31, 2018

Read More

BLOG

Animal Rights Activists Wash Windows at SF Chipotle to Demand Transparency

December 14, 2018

Read More

Our Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE

Judge Refuses to Gag Animal Rescuer

June 4, 2025

Describing the requested gag order as “overbroad and vague by any constitutional standard,” Judge Gnoss noted that Ms. Rosenberg’s critics, too, had participated in public discussion about her case, pointing by way of example to a statement by Bill Mattos, President of the California Poultry Federation, describing Ms. Rosenberg’s rescue of four chickens as a “terrorist act.”

Read More

PRESS RELEASE

Five Activists Arrested after Rescuing Sick Baby Goats, Confronting Authorities at Whole Foods-Supplying Goat Dairy Recently Exposed for Violations Including a Massive Dead Pile

May 27, 2025

Tuesday's rescue follows a months-long investigation into Vera Goat Dairy by DxE earlier this year, which found that dozens of dead mother and baby goats are regularly dumped into an illegal dead pile on the property, indicating that the operation is experiencing high rates of mortality.

Read More

PRESS RELEASE

Hundreds March in Petaluma in Support of Animal Liberation

May 24, 2025

Approximately 200 activists with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) marched through downtown Petaluma Saturday afternoon in support of animal liberation and the right to rescue animals from abuse. They began at Penry Park and weaved through downtown including past diners at restaurants along the riverfront. Along the way, they chanted, delivered speeches, and handed out educational information to the public about Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse.

Read More

PRESS RELEASE

Activists Rescue Wounded Chickens from Transport Truck at Perdue's Petaluma Poultry Slaughterhouse, Following Years of Documented Abuse and Disease

May 23, 2025

While the truck was stopped, three activists opened one of the many large crates holding chickens on the trailer and identified and removed two chickens with visible wounds. They took the chickens to get immediate medical care and shared footage of the rescue publicly, openly showing their faces.

Read More

PRESS RELEASE

Animal Rights Activists Protest at District Attorney’s House, Disrupt Parade; Week of Action Against Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry is Underway

May 19, 2025

Over the weekend, animal rights activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) held protests across Sonoma County to elevate animal cruelty at Petaluma Poultry, a subsidiary of national poultry giant Perdue Foods. On Sunday, they delivered their message to Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez with a protest outside her home in Windsor, urging her to finally prosecute Petaluma Poultry for documented criminal animal cruelty.

Read More

PRESS RELEASE

Animal Rights Group Files Anti-SLAPP Motion to Dismiss Perdue Lawsuit Against Free Speech

May 13, 2025

Free speech experts say that Perdue’s lawsuit is a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP suit, intended to silence activists, burden them with legal fees, and intimidate them from protesting. California's anti-SLAPP statute was passed to enable defendants to quickly dismiss meritless lawsuits targeting protected activities.

Read More

PRESS RELEASE

Animal Rights Activists Disrupt Trader Joe's in Berkeley, Oakland, SF, Part of Nationwide Weekend of Action

May 4, 2025

Direct Action Everywhere activists protest dozens of Trader Joe’s stores across the country asking the retailer to cut ties with Perdue’s California subsidiary, Petaluma Poultry, given documented animal abuse

Read More

PRESS RELEASE

Activists Disrupt Oakland Trader Joe's Over Sale of Chickens from Perdue Farms

March 29, 2025

“I want to know why Trader Joe’s is continuing to support Perdue’s animal cruelty and endangering consumers,” said Conrad de Jesus, an Oakland resident who participated in the protest. “They’ve seen the evidence of sick and injured animals languishing without medical care at Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry. It’s time they cut ties with this awful company.”

Read More

PRESS RELEASE

Dozens Protest at Home of Perdue Slaughterhouse Director

March 22, 2025

A handful of counter-protesters showed up with a Trump flag and a cardboard sign reading “Eat chicken.” They heckled the speakers and disrupted photos by standing in front of the photographers.

Read More