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PRESS RELEASE

Supporters at “Vigil at Yosemiteville Horror” Event to Comfort Pigs Outside Slaughterhouse

July 14, 2022

Animal rights advocates gathered to mark the two-year anniversary of the release of Unseen, an undercover mini-documentary exposing extreme cruelty inside this facility, and to bear witness and spread compassion for its victims.

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PRESS RELEASE

Supporters at “Vigil at Yosemiteville Horror” Event to Comfort Pigs Outside Slaughterhouse

July 14, 2022

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PRESS

A Bird Flu Depopulation Method So Cruel, Veterinarians Yell Foul

July 8, 2022

CounterPunch

A VSD occurrence at Rembrandt Farms in Rembrandt, Iowa is particularly troubling says Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) who did the onsite investigation.

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PRESS

A Bird Flu Depopulation Method So Cruel, Veterinarians Yell Foul

July 8, 2022

CounterPunch

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PRESS

Joey Chestnut 'felt bad' after putting hot dog eating contest protester in chokehold

July 5, 2022

USA Today

"Protesters wore masks of Star Wars' "stormtroopers" and of Darth Vader and displayed “Expose Smithfield’s Deathstar’’ signs. The ‘Deathstar’ reference compares the villainous megaweapon from the Star Wars film series to the largest factory pig farm in the country, Smithfield Foods’ Circle Four Farms in Milford, Utah."

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PRESS

Joey Chestnut 'felt bad' after putting hot dog eating contest protester in chokehold

July 5, 2022

USA Today

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PRESS

Joey Chestnut eats 63 hotdogs — and takes down a protester

July 5, 2022

Deseret News

The “Smithfield Deathstar” sign was specifically referencing “Operation Deathstar” in 2017, when activists from the California-based Direction Action Everywhere sneaked onto a Smithfield farm in Utah’s Beaver County to document the treatment of the pigs.

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PRESS

Joey Chestnut eats 63 hotdogs — and takes down a protester

July 5, 2022

Deseret News

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BLOG

Why I Disrupted Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest

July 5, 2022

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BLOG

Why I Disrupted Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest

July 5, 2022

Our signs read “Expose Smithfield’s Deathstar” referring to Smithfield’s Circle Four Farms in Milford, Utah, the largest pig farm in the country. While many criticized the tackiness and absurdity of the action, it garnered much needed media attention.

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PRESS RELEASE

Joey Chestnut HEADLOCKS Animal Activist in Darth Vader Costume During Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

July 4, 2022

Investigators with same animal rights group face felony trial in September after rescuing piglets from a Smithfield Foods factory pig farm

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PRESS RELEASE

Joey Chestnut HEADLOCKS Animal Activist in Darth Vader Costume During Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

July 4, 2022

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BLOG

The largest pig slaughterhouse in California is shutting down.

July 2, 2022

Here's what this could mean.

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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 the cities of Berkeley and Albany.

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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

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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Our Top Press Hits

TOP PRESS

Fur Is Dead: Animal Welfare Groups Cheer San Francisco Ban

March 20, 2018

The New York Times

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TOP PRESS

Inside the Bold New Animal Liberation Movement: No Masks, No Regrets, All The Risks

November 7, 2017

Mother Jones

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TOP PRESS

Rescue at Oakland Slaughterhouse Shows New, Potent Tactics of Growing Animal Rights Movement

November 1, 2017

The Intercept

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TOP PRESS

The FBI’s Hunt for Two Missing Piglets Reveals the Federal Cover-Up of Barbaric Factory Farms

October 5, 2017

The Intercept

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TOP PRESS

FBI raids animal shelters, searching for piglets rescued from factory farm, activists say

September 14, 2017

The Washington Post

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TOP PRESS

Animal Welfare Groups Have a New Tool: Virtual Reality

July 6, 2017

The New York Times

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TOP PRESS

‘Her head has been torn off’: Activists’ film alleges abuse at Costco-linked cage-free egg farm

October 20, 2016

The Washington Post

While the hens are not in cages, the video shows them crowded together, covered in feces and blood, struggling to breathe and attacking and even eating one other.

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TOP PRESS

Animal Rights Group’s Video of Hens Raises Questions, but Not Just for Farms

January 8, 2015

The New York Times

An animal rights group released on Thursday a disturbing video of laying hens at a farm in Northern California that supplies eggs to Whole Foods and Organic Valley, among other retailers and distributors.

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DxE's Blog

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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BLOG

Whole Foods is lying to you. I was arrested for revealing the truth.

July 25, 2025

Vera supplies the nation’s largest goat milk producer, Meyenberg, and its practices are a far cry from the rigorous standards Whole Foods promises. Thousands of goats are confined in crowded pens without access to pasture; newborn babies are routinely separated from their mothers; and, outside the confinement area, lies a mass graveyard of animals who died prior to slaughter.

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BLOG

I'm Going Into Trial With No Legal Defenses. I Still Have Hope.

July 9, 2025

Judge Gnoss’s ruling is simply another disturbing reminder that our legal system values money over living, breathing beings with personalities, thoughts and feelings.

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BLOG

Nonstop Action for Animals: Here's What We Did This Quarter

July 6, 2025

From daring rescues and major investigations to powerful protests, media coverage, and critical courtroom battles, we’ve been pushing the fight for animal liberation forward. Here’s a look at what we made happen this past quarter.

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BLOG

Resistance in 2025

April 17, 2025

The resistance of 2025 might not look like the resistance of 2017. That’s okay. In fact, sociologist Doug McAdam has demonstrated that tactical innovation was critical for the continued success of the civil rights movement. As organizers introduced new tactics, movement activity (‘insurgency’) rose dramatically.

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BLOG

Perdue Just Sued DxE in an Attempt to Silence Free Speech

April 5, 2025

Perdue's legal complaint is riddled with false accusations meant to malign nonviolent activists and keep the attention off its abuse of animals.

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BLOG

Building a Grassroots Movement for Animals in California

March 6, 2025

We have already begun to develop a large, trained, and coordinated network of chapters across the state, and to create a factory farm map and resource guide that will become the go-to source for information about industrialized animal agriculture in California.

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Our Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE

UC Law Summit Explores Impact and Implications of Historic Animal Rights Trial

April 24, 2023

The “Right to Rescue” is a hot topic after a California jury acquitted two activists who removed sick birds from a Foster Farms slaughter truck. Jurors, defendants, attorneys, and law professors gathered to discuss the verdict's meaning for laws related to corporate animal abuse, animal rescue, and animal personhood.

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PRESS RELEASE

Chicken Rescuers Acquitted in Historic “Right to Rescue” Case

April 16, 2023

A California jury found two women “not guilty” for rescuing sick birds from a Foster Farms slaughter truck.

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PRESS RELEASE

Residents Protest Golden Gate Fields After Third Horse Death in 2023

March 4, 2023

“The racing industry gives horses ridiculous names like “Big Laugh” because the suffering of these animals is just a game to them,” said DxE organizer Kitty Jones. “We give them respectful names because we see them as individuals worthy of respect.”

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PRESS RELEASE

Protesters Call Out Chick-Fil-A for Claiming “Humane” Standards While Sourcing from Animal Abusing Foster Farms

February 25, 2023

Referencing Chick-Fil-A’s history of oppression toward marginalized groups, activists say the company’s disregard for animals is part of a pattern.

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PRESS RELEASE

Protestors Call on Merced DA to Prosecute Documented Cruelty at Foster Farms Livingston Slaughterhouse

February 15, 2023

Citing practices that cause prolonged, terrifying, and painful deaths at Foster Farms’ killing facility, activists call for corporate accountability.

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PRESS RELEASE

Protesters Call for Closure of Primate Research Center at UC Davis, Citing Inhumane Practices, Federal Violations, and Failures of Animal Studies to Produce Relevant Results

January 26, 2023

More than 5,000 monkeys are confined at the center for use in research and breeding. Abusive methods cited by activists include the practice of withholding food and water until monkeys in research studies are so dehydrated they will perform tasks in order to be rewarded with minuscule amounts of food or water.

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PRESS RELEASE

Activists Call on USDA to End Use of Gas Chambers, Delivering Undercover Footage of Pigs Being Gassed in Slaughterhouse

January 24, 2023

The footage shows pigs screaming, gasping, thrashing violently, and trying to escape as they descend into the pit of CO2 gas.

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PRESS RELEASE

International Animal Rights Network Re-Creates Dramatic First Protest to Celebrate 10 Years of Growth and Landmark Achievements

January 21, 2023

Saturday’s Bay Area demonstration was a nonviolent disruption of Sprouts Farmers Market, recreating DxE’s first-ever action but with a far larger assemblage than the seven activists who participated in 2013. As at the original action, activists delivered a slam poem describing how farm animals live and die while standing in the store’s “meat” section.

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PRESS RELEASE

First-Ever Footage inside a US Slaughterhouse Gas Chamber Obtained at Smithfield Foods

January 18, 2023

Investigator Raven Deerbrook recorded over 16 hours of footage from multiple angles, which shows pigs screaming, gasping, thrashing violently and trying to escape as they descend into the pit of CO2 gas. Former federal prosecutor Bonnie Klapper reviewed the video and determined that use of these devices on pigs violates federal law.

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