Breaking news and publications from Direct Action Everywhere.
Media inquiry? Please email press@dxe.io.
PRESS
May 12, 2026
Los Angeles Times
In late February, animal rights activists flew a drone over a calf ranch in the Central Valley and watched as workers kicked and punched the animals. Footage reviewed by The Times shows a worker pulling a calf by the nose with pliers.
PRESS
May 12, 2026
Los Angeles Times
PRESS
July 29, 2026
Modesto Bee
“The amount of footage that we’re getting now really makes it hard to deny that this is actually the industry standard practice,” Bernier said, adding that drone technology has been a game changer. Still, they don’t fully fault the workers, who work long days and have to move quickly. It’s the industrialized farms themselves they’re after.
PRESS
July 29, 2026
Modesto Bee
PRESS RELEASE
July 27, 2026
Factory farm investigators with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) used drones to document cruel handling of calves at 140 Cattle Co., a calf-raising operation linked to Hilmar Cheese Company, one of the largest cheese producers in the U.S.
PRESS RELEASE
July 27, 2026
PRESS
July 25, 2026
Burbank Leader
Petaluma Poultry, a subsidiary of the country's fourth-largest chicken producer Perdue Farms, routinely abuses and neglects chickens, according to Direct Action Everywhere, an animal activist network that led the protest along with a group called The Humane League.
PRESS RELEASE
July 18, 2026
Activists first protested silently next to the animals on display inside Petco in San Rafael, and then loudly outside the store, urging Petco to end the retail sale of animals at all locations.
PRESS RELEASE
July 18, 2026
Activists first protested silently next to the animals on display inside Petco in San Rafael, and then loudly outside the store, urging Petco to end the retail sale of animals at all locations.
PRESS
July 17, 2026
Patch
Animal rights activists say the demonstration is part of a broader campaign to expand California's restrictions on retail animal sales.
PRESS
July 17, 2026
Patch
PRESS
July 17, 2026
Daily Journal
"When a person breaks the law to protect animals, they ought to be able to present the necessity defense to the jury. Animal law as a field is growing significantly, and review in this case will signal that the courts take it seriously. "
PRESS
July 14, 2026
Patch
Swimming through the sea of cages, Cabral recalls opening one and comforting a whimpering beagle. She petted the small dog, its first time being shown love, she thought. The more the beagle melted into Cabral's hands, the more she believed she was making the right choice, as just years earlier, those same hands performed experimental dissections on mice.
PRESS
July 14, 2026
Patch
BLOG
July 14, 2026
BLOG
July 14, 2026
The prosecutorial viewpoint seems to be at odds with a growing public expectation that animals raised for food should not be left to suffer — and aggressive marketing (in this case, “humanewashing”) often deceives consumers into thinking they’re making the right purchasing choices.
PRESS RELEASE
June 30, 2026
Direct Action Everywhere Los Angeles campaigned to urge the grocery chain to cut ties with Meyenberg, after the group’s investigation at a Meyenberg dairy exposed emaciated, ill goats and an illegal dead pile
PRESS RELEASE
June 30, 2026
TOP PRESS
December 8, 2021
Democracy Now!
In conversation with host Amy Goodman, DxE investigator Wayne Hsiung asks “Are the living creatures of this Earth property, or are they living creatures that deserve some form of dignity and respect?”
TOP PRESS
December 6, 2021
The Guardian
This case is about smashing the myth of benevolent small-scale farms, which may talk of free-range and happy animals, but still ultimately treat animals as property and slaughter them for profit.
TOP PRESS
September 29, 2021
The Sacramento Bee
TOP PRESS
September 29, 2021
The Intercept
TOP PRESS
February 17, 2021
The Intercept
TOP PRESS
January 29, 2021
ABC News
TOP PRESS
December 23, 2020
The Washington Post
BLOG
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.
BLOG
July 2, 2022
Here's what this could mean.
BLOG
June 25, 2022
The protest occurred after yet another horse was killed at the horse racing track that spans Berkeley and Albany.
BLOG
June 25, 2022
Senator Booker spoke about the need for nonviolent direct action and for "not being spectators in democracy!"
BLOG
June 14, 2022
As happy as I am to see Smithfield leave California, they should not be allowed to simply cut and run. They must adequately compensate their workers, provide appropriate care for their pigs, and clean up the damage done to the surrounding community and to the L.A. river.
BLOG
May 20, 2022
Over the last few decades, the Central Valley of California has become plagued by the crisis of dirty drinking water contaminated with nitrates. Latino communities have been disproportionately affected. In the heart of the valley lies Tulare County, a majority Latino district and the largest dairy producing county in the nation.
BLOG
May 5, 2022
This is a response to a recent study by Faunalytics regarding the impacts of protest on diet change.
BLOG
April 14, 2022
High profile sporting events pose a significant opportunity to get eyeballs on a topic– if one is bold enough to risk criminal charges and bodily harm. And it's a tactic that has been used throughout history.
BLOG
February 2, 2022
Tip #1: You need an organizational system that you understand and use every day.
PRESS RELEASE
July 27, 2026
Factory farm investigators with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) used drones to document cruel handling of calves at 140 Cattle Co., a calf-raising operation linked to Hilmar Cheese Company, one of the largest cheese producers in the U.S.
PRESS RELEASE
July 18, 2026
Activists first protested silently next to the animals on display inside Petco in San Rafael, and then loudly outside the store, urging Petco to end the retail sale of animals at all locations.
PRESS RELEASE
June 30, 2026
Direct Action Everywhere Los Angeles campaigned to urge the grocery chain to cut ties with Meyenberg, after the group’s investigation at a Meyenberg dairy exposed emaciated, ill goats and an illegal dead pile
PRESS RELEASE
June 22, 2026
A DxE drone investigation released in May shows calves kicked in the face, yanked by their tails, and disbudded with hot irons at Agresti Calf Ranch in Stanislaus County. The facility is owned by the Agresti-Assali family which also owns the adjacent Clover Sonoma milk supplier Double D Dairies. DxE investigators witnessed calves from Double D Dairies being transported to Agresti Calf Ranch.
PRESS RELEASE
June 20, 2026
With Bay Area cities moving to ban the retail sale of animals, animal rights activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) are turning up the pressure on one of the Bay’s biggest pet retailers: Petco. Dozens of activists with DxE, PETA, and other groups protested inside and outside Petco in San Mateo Saturday afternoon.
PRESS RELEASE
June 12, 2026
Dozens of animal rights activists protested outside biopharmaceutical giant Merck’s West Coast headquarters on Friday, condemning the company’s recent purchase of beagles for animal testing from Ridglan Farms, a notorious dog breeding facility near Madison, Wisconsin that has made national headlines in recent months.
PRESS RELEASE
June 2, 2026
Terry Seese, the Chief of the DA’s Bureau of Investigation, came to speak to the advocates. He took the letter and confirmed the DA’s office is aware of the footage taken at Agresti Calf Ranch, but deflected responsibility onto the Sheriff’s office, which has not made a referral.
PRESS RELEASE
May 17, 2026
Following San Francisco Animal Commission’s vote to recommend a ban on the retail sale of animals, advocates rallied in San Francisco to bring attention to cruelty of the exotic pet trade
PRESS RELEASE
May 16, 2026
Activists gathered peacefully on public property by the calf ranch to bear witness to the calves and called on authorities to take action to protect these vulnerable animals. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputies were already present when activists arrived and warned them not to trespass.
