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The Problem with "Humanely Raised" Poultry and Eggs

July 3, 2023

AlterNet

Investigations of alternative poultry and egg farms typically reveal practices and attitudes that do not meet consumer expectations—expectations that are cultivated not only by the companies and retailers they do business with but also by animal welfarists who employ “humane” farming language that glosses over the facts with nebulous assertions and omissions... More often than not, the difference between “humane” farms and factory farms is moot.

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PRESS

The Problem with "Humanely Raised" Poultry and Eggs

July 3, 2023

AlterNet

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BLOG

Exposing Petaluma Poultry

July 1, 2023

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BLOG

Exposing Petaluma Poultry

July 1, 2023

Since 2018, DxE investigators have documented routine violations of California's animal cruelty laws at Petaluma Poultry factory farms, but the authorities refuse to intervene -- so they are taking action themselves to rescue the animals.

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PRESS

As A Vet, I Would Protect All Animals from Harm – But the Law Won’t Let Me

June 26, 2023

Plant-Based News

Animals, of any size or species, are not objects. You cannot put a price tag on their lives. They are individuals who feel fear, sadness, joy, and other emotions just like we do, and they deserve respect.

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PRESS

As A Vet, I Would Protect All Animals from Harm – But the Law Won’t Let Me

June 26, 2023

Plant-Based News

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PRESS

Letter to the Editor: Animal Cruelty Ignored

June 24, 2023

Press Democrat

"Not much has changed over the two administrations of Sonoma County district attorneys. They are continuing to retain charges against activists who originally exposed Petaluma Poultry for its animal cruelty."

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PRESS

Letter to the Editor: Animal Cruelty Ignored

June 24, 2023

Press Democrat

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PRESS

Des Sentences Suspendues et des Absolutions Conditionnelles pour les 11 Militants Véganes

June 20, 2023

La Presse

Translation: Suspended sentences and conditional discharges for the 11 vegan activists

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PRESS

Des Sentences Suspendues et des Absolutions Conditionnelles pour les 11 Militants Véganes

June 20, 2023

La Presse

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PRESS

"Raced to Death:" Golden Gate Fields Has Eighth Horse Death of Year

June 20, 2023

Daily Californian

A petition, led by the animal rights organization Direct Action Everywhere, to shut down the horse track has gained more than 39,000 signatures. “[The horses] are... forced to run until they are, one way or another, led to die,” said campus alumna Cassie King, organizer with Direct Action Everywhere.

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PRESS

"Raced to Death:" Golden Gate Fields Has Eighth Horse Death of Year

June 20, 2023

Daily Californian

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PRESS

Activists Target Petaluma Poultry

June 14, 2023

NorCal Public Media

"As somebody who has a disability myself," Rosenberg said. "I can't imagine what it's like to be an animal who's sick and disabled on the floor of one of these factory farms fighting for food and water, and so I wanna get those animals out and get them the care that they deserve."

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PRESS

Activists Target Petaluma Poultry

June 14, 2023

NorCal Public Media

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PRESS

Bay Area Activist Group Back at Petaluma Poultry Facility, Removes 18 Chickens It Says Reflect Cruel Conditions

June 13, 2023

Press Democrat

Representatives of Direct Action Everywhere, which claimed responsibility for the actions on social media Tuesday, made off with 18 chickens. Their actions, the latest in a series of similar events, are being investigated.

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PRESS

Bay Area Activist Group Back at Petaluma Poultry Facility, Removes 18 Chickens It Says Reflect Cruel Conditions

June 13, 2023

Press Democrat

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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

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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Our Top Press Hits

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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TOP PRESS

Secret Recordings Capture the Ugly Reality Inside a Denver Slaughterhouse

October 9, 2024

The Intercept

Videos shared with The Intercept prior to the report’s public release show, among other scenes, lambs with their throats slit hanging upside down and thrashing on the slaughter line; one animal with an internal organ that has been torn inside-out and left dangling behind it as it heads to slaughter; injured lambs being led to slaughter; workers laughing, spanking animals, and engaging in simulated sex acts with nearby machinery as lambs are having their throats slit; and the apparent use of so-called Judas sheep — adult sheep kept alive at the facility and used to lead the young sheep to slaughter.

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TOP PRESS

Sonoma Loves Its Farms. Activists Call Them Factories. Could a Ballot Measure Upend This County?

August 30, 2024

San Francisco Chronicle

In dimly lit indoor aisles at Weber Family Farms in Petaluma, hundreds of thousands of white chickens live out their 90 weeks of life. They fly from perch to perch. They dust bathe in the bedding. They nip at water dispensers. They lay egg after egg. And they never leave. These barns are at the heart of a bitter fight that Mike Weber and Samantha Faye are waging for the future of local farming.

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TOP PRESS

Groups Seek to Ban Large-Scale Animal Farming in Sonoma County

April 4, 2024

Los Angeles Times

Lewis Bernier, an animal rights activist supporting the initiative, said he has visited several factory farms across the country, documenting inhumane treatment, and one farm in Sonoma County stands out as having “the worst and most systemic animal cruelty that I’ve ever seen.”

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TOP PRESS

An Animal-Rights Activist and the Problem of Political Despair

March 15, 2024

The New Yorker

Instead of planning actions, many activists now spend their time litigating microaggressions and small disputes within their ranks... As a response, [DxE co-founder Wayne] Hsiung has tried to promote a maxim of "braver spaces, not safer spaces," which encourages the animal rights community to put aside their individual concerns, if possible, and do things like risk felony jail time for the cause.

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DxE's Blog

BLOG

Perdue Rescue Trial Court Watch - Week 7: Oct 27th-31st, 2025

October 27, 2025

Updates and summaries from Week 7 of the Perdue Rescue Trial

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BLOG

Perdue Rescue Trial Court Watch - Week 6: Oct 20th-24th, 2025

October 20, 2025

Updates and summaries from Week 6 of the Perdue Rescue Trial

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BLOG

Perdue Rescue Trial Court Watch - Week 5: Oct 13th-17th, 2025

October 13, 2025

Updates and summaries from Week 5 of the Perdue Rescue Trial

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BLOG

Perdue Rescue Trial Court Watch - Week 4: Oct 6th-10th, 2025

October 6, 2025

Updates and summaries from Week 4 of the Perdue Rescue Trial

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BLOG

Perdue Rescue Trial Court Watch - Week 3: Sept 29th-Oct 3rd, 2025

September 29, 2025

Updates and summaries from Week 3 of the Perdue Rescue Trial

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BLOG

Perdue Rescue Trial Court Watch - Week 2: Sept 22nd-27th, 2025

September 22, 2025

Updates and summaries from Week 2 of the Perdue Rescue Trial

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BLOG

Perdue Rescue Trial Court Watch - Week 1: Sept 15th-19th, 2025

September 15, 2025

Updates and summaries from Week 1 of the Perdue Rescue Trial

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BLOG

Perdue Rescue Trial Court Watch - Pre-Trial Updates

September 12, 2025

The Perdue Rescue Trial begins on Monday, September 15th at the Sonoma County Superior Court in Santa Rosa, California.

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BLOG

Trader Joe’s Is Suing Me to Keep You in the Dark

July 31, 2025

Trader Joe’s is known as “America’s most reputable brand,” and I’m learning firsthand that this might be because they relentlessly silence their critics and go to great lengths to protect their image from public scrutiny.

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Our Press Releases

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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PRESS RELEASE

Felony Animal Rescue Trial Begins

September 15, 2025

Zoe Rosenberg, 23, is charged with felony conspiracy and 3 misdemeanors for rescuing chickens from Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse

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PRESS RELEASE

Animal Rights Activists Stage Large “Boat” in Creative Protest Urging Trader Joe’s to Drop Petaluma Poultry

August 30, 2025

Activists use Trader Joe’s nautical theme to urge the company to follow its moral compass and steer away from Petaluma Poultry

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PRESS RELEASE

Activists Protest at Berkeley Trader Joe's Over Purchase of Chickens from Perdue's Petaluma Poultry

August 16, 2025

Dozens of activists with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) protested outside the Trader Joe's store at 1885 University Avenue in Berkeley, after an Alameda County judge partially denied Trader Joe's requested temporary restraining order against DxE on Tuesday.

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PRESS RELEASE

Activists Protest at Homes of Perdue Executives, After Court Denies Temporary Restraining Order

July 26, 2025

Around thirty animal rights activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) held a peaceful protest outside the home of Scott Fitzpatrick, the Live Production Manager for Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry, after Sonoma County Judge Patrick Broderick denied Fitzpatrick’s application for a temporary restraining order on Friday, citing “insufficient evidence.”

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PRESS RELEASE

Second Perdue Foods Executive Sues Animal Rights Group to Stop Public Protests

July 23, 2025

Scott Fitzpatrick, Live Production Manager for national poultry giant Perdue Foods, filed a lawsuit Tuesday to stop public protests by Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) over documented animal cruelty.

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PRESS RELEASE

Activist Charged with Felony Vandalism for Supergluing Hand to Trader Joe's Fridge Protesting Animal Cruelty

July 3, 2025

Ani Kandada superglued down inside Trader Joe's original store in Pasadena asking the retailer to stop selling chickens from Perdue's Petaluma Poultry, just hours after another animal rights activist was arrested for supergluing her hand inside Trader Joe's Headquarters in Monrovia, CA.

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PRESS RELEASE

Activist Arrested After Supergluing Herself at Trader Joe's Headquarters, as Tensions Rise Over Controversial Chicken Supplier

July 3, 2025

Carla Cabral remained superglued to the desk from approximately 10AM to approximately 11AM, while she demanded a meeting with company executives about documented animal cruelty at Trader Joe's chicken supplier, Petaluma Poultry, which is a subsidiary of national agribusiness giant Perdue Foods.

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Animal Activists Disrupt CA Poultry Federation Board Meeting, Present Award for "Biggest Animal Abuser"

June 10, 2025

Animal rights activists with DxE disrupted multiple events at the Summer Board Meeting of the California Poultry Federation, a trade association representing commercial chicken and turkey producers across the state. Among CPF's twenty board members are three executives from Petaluma Poultry, the California subsidiary of national poultry giant Perdue Foods, where DxE investigators have documented widespread violations of animal cruelty laws since 2018.

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