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Our 2023 Story

March 23, 2023

As we tear down the industry, we lift up animals. We show the world the violence that must be left in the past, and the beauty the future can hold.

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BLOG

Our 2023 Story

March 23, 2023

We have the momentum and we cannot stop now. 2023 will bring more open rescues, more bold actions, and more trials. As we tear down the industry, we lift up animals. We show the world the violence that must be left in the past, and the beauty the future can hold.

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PRESS

‘Baywatch’ Actress Alexandra Paul Found Not Guilty in Chickens Theft Case

March 22, 2023

Inside Edition

Paul and a companion ruffled feathers when they rescued two chickens on their way to a poultry food processing plant in California.

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PRESS

‘Baywatch’ Actress Alexandra Paul Found Not Guilty in Chickens Theft Case

March 22, 2023

Inside Edition

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‘Baywatch’ Star Used Loophole to Beat Chicken-Stealing Charges, Merced DA Says

March 21, 2023

Fresno Bee

Merced County District Attorney Nicole Silveira said she wants to set the record straight about “rescuing” farm animals. It’s illegal and you will be prosecuted.

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‘Baywatch’ Star Used Loophole to Beat Chicken-Stealing Charges, Merced DA Says

March 21, 2023

Fresno Bee

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TOP PRESS

Former TV Star, Now a Chicken ‘Rescuer,’ Found Not Guilty of Foster Farms Theft

March 20, 2023

LA Times

“This is a victory for [the chickens] Ethan, Jax, and all other living beings subjected to abuse by corporations like Foster Farms,” Santurio said in a news release from Direct Action Everywhere. “I have so much love for the chickens in my family and I want all animals to experience that safety and respect.”

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TOP PRESS

Former TV Star, Now a Chicken ‘Rescuer,’ Found Not Guilty of Foster Farms Theft

March 20, 2023

LA Times

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PRESS

Merced Jury Acquits Animal Activists

March 20, 2023

Sacramento Bee

“This is how we shape history, by using our privileges to confront unjust industries that exploit animals,” said Alexandra Paul, a former Baywatch star who, along with Alicia Santurio, was found not guilty by 12 jurors.

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PRESS

Merced Jury Acquits Animal Activists

March 20, 2023

Sacramento Bee

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PRESS

Animal Activists Rally in Petaluma to Support Activists Accused of Crimes

March 19, 2023

Petaluma Argus Courier

“It’s inspiring to see how much support there is in the county and beyond to see what happens in this trial,” said Cassandra King, 25, one of the defendants charged in the Sonoma County incidents.

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PRESS

Animal Activists Rally in Petaluma to Support Activists Accused of Crimes

March 19, 2023

Petaluma Argus Courier

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PRESS

Jury Finds Baywatch Actress and Bay Advocate Not Guilty of Theft for Rescuing Injured Chickens from Outside Foster Farms Slaughterhouse

March 18, 2023

Davis Vanguard

“This is a victory for Ethan, Jax, and all other living beings subjected to abuse by corporations like Foster Farms,” said Alicia Santurio. “I have so much love for the chickens in my family and I want all animals to experience that safety and respect.”

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PRESS

Jury Finds Baywatch Actress and Bay Advocate Not Guilty of Theft for Rescuing Injured Chickens from Outside Foster Farms Slaughterhouse

March 18, 2023

Davis Vanguard

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PRESS

Foster Farms Chicken Rescuers Found Not Guilty

March 17, 2023

Turlock Journal

“Baywatch” star Alexandra Paul and Alicia Santurio were acquitted of misdemeanor theft charges by a 12-person jury in Merced on Friday for their actions in September 2021 when they “rescued” two chickens from a truck that was heading into a Livingston slaughterhouse owned by Foster Farms.

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PRESS

Foster Farms Chicken Rescuers Found Not Guilty

March 17, 2023

Turlock Journal

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PRESS

Activists Acquitted in 'Right to Rescue' Case

March 17, 2023

ABC 30

Paul testified that she saw video of animal cruelty at the facility and was forced to act, claiming her actions were legally and morally right.

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PRESS

Activists Acquitted in 'Right to Rescue' Case

March 17, 2023

ABC 30

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Our Top Press Hits

TOP PRESS

A California Town Will Vote on Banning Factory Farms. What Does That Mean for the Rest of the US?

January 30, 2024

The Guardian

If successful in Berkeley, a liberal San Francisco Bay Area town that’s often been at the forefront of US environmental policy, the method can be replicated elsewhere, [activists] say. “We can pave the path to abolishing factory farming,” said Cassie King, an organizer with Direct Action Everywhere, one of the groups that pushed for the measure.

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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

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

Animal Rights Activist Convicted of Felony for Rescuing Sick Chickens

November 4, 2023

The Intercept

Hsiung’s defense was in many ways stymied from the jump. The judge barred almost all photo and video evidence of animal cruelty from the trial, as has been the case in a number of previous DxE trials. As I’ve previously noted, the decision to disallow such evidence is usually made to benefit a defendant — not showing gruesome images of a murder victim, for example. Such logic has been flipped in DxE cases, including Hsiung’s most recent, to the benefit of powerful agribusiness.

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TOP PRESS

Activists Call It Rescue. Farms Call It Stealing. What Is ‘Open Rescue’?

August 7, 2023

National Geographic

These crusaders are part of the so-called “open rescue” movement, in which animal rights activists brazenly take animals from factory farm operations. Direct Action Everywhere—better known as DxE—is at the forefront of this movement in the United States...

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TOP PRESS

Dangerous Pathogens and Cruelty Law Violations at Perdue Subsidiary, Animal Rights Report Alleges

June 13, 2023

The Intercept

In conjunction with the release of an undercover investigation on the factory farm, the group DxE mounted an “open rescue” of birds from a slaughterhouse.

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TOP PRESS

Opinion: Utah Undermined the Jury System to Shield Big Ag from Scrutiny

March 30, 2023

Salt Lake Tribune

If government agencies were taking these [investigative] reports seriously and protecting animals from cruelty, there would be no need for bills like this. But certain Utah legislators have decided that the real problem with sick, suffering animals is the potential for negative publicity for the industry and so it is the industry, not the animals, that need protection.

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TOP PRESS

The Fight Against Factory Farming Is Winning Criminal Trials

March 21, 2023

Vox

DxE’s theory — that when you show a jury of ordinary citizens what happens to animals in the meat industry, they’ll agree that they deserve rescue — turned out to be true, challenging the idea that the animal rights agenda is radical or unpopular.

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TOP PRESS

Former TV Star, Now a Chicken ‘Rescuer,’ Found Not Guilty of Foster Farms Theft

March 20, 2023

LA Times

“This is a victory for [the chickens] Ethan, Jax, and all other living beings subjected to abuse by corporations like Foster Farms,” Santurio said in a news release from Direct Action Everywhere. “I have so much love for the chickens in my family and I want all animals to experience that safety and respect.”

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DxE's Blog

BLOG

Perdue Rescue Trial Court Watch - Week 7: Oct 27th-29th 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

Activists Evoke “Chicken Run” in Retelling of Real-Life Rescues

January 27, 2024

Playing with characters and plot elements from the new film Chicken Run 2: Dawn of the Nugget, the protest featured “Zoe Rosenbird” coming to the rescue of sick, injured chickens and transforming the operation that tortured them into an animal sanctuary.

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PRESS RELEASE

Activist Sentenced to Jail for Rescuing Sick Animals from Factory Farms

November 30, 2023

The University of Denver’s Animal Activist Legal Defense Project is working on the appeal. Attorney Chris Carraway said, “I often hear courts describe trials as a search for the truth. Mr. Hsiung’s trial was anything but. The press had limited access; trial participants were unconstitutionally gagged from the beginning; and the court bent over backwards to prevent the defense from detailing the chronic animal cruelty found which informed the intent behind the actions."

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PRESS RELEASE

Berkeley Factory Farm Ban Qualifies for November 2024 Election

October 19, 2023

“The thousands of signatures we’ve collected this summer are a testament to how enthusiastic the people of Berkeley are about disassociating with these cruel industries that run counter to our values,” says Berkeley resident and DxE organizer Kitty Jones. “It is high time we move past a system of industrialized exploitation of animals.”

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PRESS RELEASE

Activists Submit Required Signatures to Put Factory Farm Ban on Ballot

September 5, 2023

Activists say voter enthusiasm is high for a ban on factory farms in Berkeley after submitting more than 4,900 signatures to the Berkeley city clerk today, a large overshoot beyond the 3,000 required to get the measure on the ballot.

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PRESS RELEASE

Factory Farm Ban Likely to Be on Ballot After Activists Gather Required Signatures

August 1, 2023

"The vast majority of Berkeley voters that we've talked to care about animals and the planet and are eager to sign on to this initiative,” says Almira Tanner, lead organizer of DxE.

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PRESS RELEASE

Golden Gate Fields Horse Racing Track to Shut Down Following Years of Protests

July 17, 2023

“This closure is a win for horses and for vulnerable humans who are taken advantage of by the gambling industry,” says Rocky Chau, a DxE activist who was arrested during a protest on the GGF track in March 2021.

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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

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

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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