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Involvement in Petaluma Poultry Farm Protests Debated in Closing Arguments

October 24, 2023

Press Democrat

Hsiung emphasized his intent to help struggling animals in the 2018 demonstration. But he denied involvement in the second one in 2019.

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PRESS

Involvement in Petaluma Poultry Farm Protests Debated in Closing Arguments

October 24, 2023

Press Democrat

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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

Berkeley Factory Farm Ban Qualifies for November 2024 Election

October 19, 2023

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PRESS

The Open Rescue Movement for Farm Animals, Explained

October 19, 2023

Sentient Media

Perhaps the most well-known case of open rescue involves two piglets, Lily and Lizzie. Ill and underweight when they were found by activists at a Smithfield-owned (the largest pork producer in the U.S.) facility in Utah, Circle Four Farms, the pigs were rescued by activists and relocated to animal sanctuaries, which the FBI then raided in search of the pigs’ DNA.

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PRESS

The Open Rescue Movement for Farm Animals, Explained

October 19, 2023

Sentient Media

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PRESS

Activist: Goal Was to Rescue Chickens, Have Dialogue at Petaluma Poultry Farm

October 12, 2023

Press Democrat

An image of a chicken with an eye injury and that was believed to be too frail to flee humans was indicative of the chicken population at a poultry farm just outside Petaluma where activists held a protest in 2018, one of them told a jury Thursday.

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PRESS

Activist: Goal Was to Rescue Chickens, Have Dialogue at Petaluma Poultry Farm

October 12, 2023

Press Democrat

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PRESS

Five Horses Dead in Two Weeks at Golden Gate Fields

October 11, 2023

Daily Californian

A similar group of deaths occurred at Golden Gate Fields in November 2021, when four horses died over the course of a week. “This type of pattern is common for horse racing,” said Samantha Faye, lead organizer of Stop Blood Sports and spokesperson for DxE.

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PRESS

Five Horses Dead in Two Weeks at Golden Gate Fields

October 11, 2023

Daily Californian

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PRESS

Petaluma Farm Co-Owner Testifies Animal Welfare Activists ‘Startled’ Chickens

October 6, 2023

Press Democrat

[Direct Action Everywhere/DxE] argues they believed the animals were being mistreated. Referencing California’s animal cruelty laws, they contend they had the right to rescue animals in distress.

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PRESS

Petaluma Farm Co-Owner Testifies Animal Welfare Activists ‘Startled’ Chickens

October 6, 2023

Press Democrat

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PRESS

Court Watch: ‘Open Rescue’ Trial Underway

October 6, 2023

Davis Vanguard

In Deputy District Attorney Robert Waner’s opening statement, the prosecutor told jurors Hsiung and DxE activists believe that compassion should be extended to all animals.

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PRESS

Court Watch: ‘Open Rescue’ Trial Underway

October 6, 2023

Davis Vanguard

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PRESS

Sonoma Rescue Trial Defense Can't Show Animal Cruelty Video

October 6, 2023

UnchainedTV

The judge in the Sonoma rescue trial of animal rights activist Wayne Hsiung has ruled against allowing him to show videos of suffering ducks and chickens to the jury.

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PRESS

Sonoma Rescue Trial Defense Can't Show Animal Cruelty Video

October 6, 2023

UnchainedTV

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PRESS

Activist Tells Sonoma County Jury He Committed No Crime; Sought Only to Help Animals

October 5, 2023

North Bay Business Journal

Hsiung told jurors Thursday the activists support transparency and their ultimate goal is to expose mistreatment of animals. “You cannot fight a shadow with more shadows. You fight a shadow with light,” he said.

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PRESS

Activist Tells Sonoma County Jury He Committed No Crime; Sought Only to Help Animals

October 5, 2023

North Bay Business Journal

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Our Top Press Hits

TOP PRESS

America's largest pork producer pledged to make its meat more humane. An investigation says it didn't.

May 8, 2018

Vox

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TOP PRESS

Six Animal Rights Activists Charged With Felonies for Investigation and Rescue That Led to Punishment of a Utah Turkey Farm

May 4, 2018

The Intercept

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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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DxE's Blog

BLOG

If Rescuing a Suffering Animal Is a Crime, What Does That Make the System?

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.

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BLOG

The Press Won't Link California's Elephant Seal Deaths to Factory Farms

May 28, 2026

The elephant seals at Año Nuevo are dying because they share beaches with infected seabirds — infected because H5N1 has become endemic in wild bird populations worldwide, a spread driven in significant part by the concentration and global trade of farmed poultry.

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BLOG

“Make Sure It’s a F***ing Felony": What Happened at the Preliminary Hearing in the Meyenberg Rescue Case

May 20, 2026

Deputies testified that they never investigated the animal cruelty allegations at the dairy or referred them to any agency, despite being told about dead and suffering animals on site. One officer even defended the facility by claiming that “you can go to any dairy, anywhere in the country, and there will be dead goats there.”

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BLOG

How Pepper Spray Can Save Puppies

April 22, 2026

Open rescue as a strategy is not just about getting a few animals out of their cages, it is also about creating a crisis that can no longer be ignored. It is about forcing the public and people in power to choose a side.

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BLOG

An Open Letter Responding to Western United Dairies' Disinformation

March 19, 2026

The dairy industry trade group's CEO, Anja Raudabaugh, spread blatant lies about animal rights activists on a recent podcast discussing DxE's latest project, FactoryFarmWatch.org. This blog corrects the record and invites Ms. Raudabaugh to engage in an honest and transparent conversation.

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BLOG

Exposing Big Ag with Factory Farm Watch

February 19, 2026

Factory Farm Watch is more than a map. It is a launchpad for statewide action to end factory farming.

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BLOG

ALC India Was a Huge Success!

February 6, 2026

A summary of the first annual Animal Liberation Conference in India, co-hosted by DxE and Indore Animal Liberation

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BLOG

An Open Letter to My Judge

January 4, 2026

I think the public has made it resoundingly clear that they feel Perdue should be prosecuted for its crimes. I hope you'll take that into consideration and use your power as a judge to do some good for these animals. 

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BLOG

Zoe's Reflections on Animal Rising's Beagle Rescue Trial Verdict

December 18, 2025

No prosecution, conviction, or sentence, will ever stop a movement driven by compassion and care.

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Our Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE

Valadao Dairy Linked to Criminal Animal Cruelty

October 1, 2026

Factory farm investigators with the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) just confirmed that Valadao Dairy, owned by Congressman David Valadao's family, sends newborn dairy calves to Grimmius Cattle Company, California's largest calf-raising operation where DxE investigators have recorded sick baby cows being dragged from a trailer and shot in the head.

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Bay Area Residents March in Support of U.S. Bill to End Federal Funding of Dog and Cat Experiments

September 26, 2026

With the group were several rescued lab beagles. The demonstration, which was organized by the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), aimed to raise awareness about the COMPACT Act (H.R.10522), a bipartisan bill that was introduced on Wednesday to end federal funding for experiments on dogs and cats.

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PRESS RELEASE

Judge Grants Diversion in Goat Rescue Case, Over Prosecution’s Objection

September 23, 2026

At a hearing last month, Judge Jim Trevino reduced all of the felony charges to misdemeanors after reviewing a defense filing detailing evidence of significant animal cruelty at the dairy, calling the filing persuasive. After today’s judicial diversion, all charges will be dismissed following completion of 40 hours of community service and 5 months probation. 

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PRESS RELEASE

Drone Video Shows Animal Abuse at Dairy Behind Pizza Hut, Domino's Cheese

September 21, 2026

Workers at California's largest dairy operation were recorded hitting and kicking young calves in the face in July. In another part of the facility, footage shows a worker whipping adult cows to move them toward the milking barn.

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PRESS RELEASE

Drone Video Shows Calf Abuse at Madera Calf Ranch

September 18, 2026

The drone footage shows workers pushing and pulling newborn calves from a trailer, kicking them to make them stand, and throwing them into small, individual crates, which are a common form of intensive confinement used in the calf-raising industry.

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Activists Protest Petco to Demand End of Live Animals Sales, Following Exposé of Cruelty at Parakeet Breeding Mill

September 5, 2026

Protesters entered the store with signs reading “Someone Not Something” and “Stop Selling Animals,” as well as trash cans overflowing with plush parakeets, rubber snakes, and rubber mice to represent how Petco treats animals like trash, based on images from multiple recent investigations of breeders that sell to Petco.

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PRESS RELEASE

Judge Reduces All Felonies to Misdemeanors in Goat Rescue Case

August 25, 2026

The ruling comes in response to a filing earlier this month detailing evidence of significant animal cruelty at the dairy. The judge also ordered that the District Attorney’s office disclose evidence of DA Sarah Hacker’s relationship with the owners of the dairy farm property involved in the prosecution against these animal rescuers.

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PRESS RELEASE

VIDEO: Activists Protest Whole Foods Goat Milk Supplier’s Cruelty with Giant “Bloody” Milk Carton and “Die-In”

August 22, 2026

The protest featured a 10-foot-tall milk carton prop modeled after Meyenberg packaging, but with an image of the dead pile of goats documented at Meyenberg’s Vera Goat Dairy and with red streamers symbolizing the animals’ blood flowing out from the top of the carton.

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PRESS RELEASE

Defense Submits Animal Cruelty Evidence in Goat Rescue Case

August 11, 2026

Today, defense attorneys for four goat rescuers charged in Kings County filed evidence with the court of animal cruelty at the Whole Foods-supplying goat dairy at the heart of the case. They have submitted a motion requesting that Judge Jim Trevino reduce the felony charges to misdemeanors.

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