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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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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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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

Newcomer's Perspective

December 26, 2023

The Sonoma County Court's actions didn't stop me but, instead, spurred me to further action just as it did for many others.

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BLOG

I’m Facing over 20 Years in Prison for Rescuing Animals, But I Am Not Afraid

December 2, 2023

Whether I lose my freedom for days, weeks, months, or even years, it is worth it to give even one or two animals a chance to experience freedom for the first time in their entire lives.

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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.

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BLOG

This Disabled Duck is at the Center of a Felony Case. His Name is Bruce.

August 30, 2023

If you saw a little duckling on his back, paddling his legs and struggling to get back up, what would you do? Would you keep walking? Or would you help him? 

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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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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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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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BLOG

Cedar the Goat Shines a Light on the Dark Reality of 4-H and FFA

May 1, 2023

I have seen firsthand the trauma these programs inflict on children and the violence they inflict on animals. It’s time we reform 4-H and FFA to no longer include programs where kids raise animals to die.

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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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Our Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Activists Rally at UC Berkeley Demanding a Pardon for Student Animal Rescuer

January 23, 2026

UC Berkeley students, alumni, and local residents held a “Free Zoe” rally and march on the UC Berkeley campus on Friday, demanding the pardon of animal rights activist Zoe Rosenberg, who is currently on house arrest.

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PRESS RELEASE

Judge Denies Trader Joe's Motion for Contempt Against Animal Rights Activists

January 12, 2026

He also denied Trader Joe’s request to restrict protesters’ use of amplified sound on public property outside their stores, writing, “prohibition on the use of sound amplification devices is an invalid infringement upon Defendants’ free speech rights.”

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PRESS RELEASE

Animal Rescuer to Begin House Arrest Tomorrow Following Solitary Confinement in Jail

January 12, 2026

Zoe Rosenberg will check in at the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office tomorrow and get an ankle monitor put on before beginning her home detention

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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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