California Student Sentenced for Poultry Slaughterhouse Break-In in Animal Rescue Operation

 

A 23-year-old University of California, Berkeley student, Zoe Rosenberg, has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for breaking into a poultry slaughterhouse in Petaluma, California, and taking four chickens in what she described as a “rescue” mission. The conviction stems from her role in an operation led by the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) in 2023.

Rosenberg was convicted of felony conspiracy and three misdemeanor charges in October. On Wednesday, a judge handed down the 90-day sentence, with the possibility of serving 60 days under alternative conditions such as house arrest, significantly less than the four-and-a-half-year sentence she could have faced. In addition, the court ordered Rosenberg to pay over $100,000 to Petaluma Poultry, a Perdue Farms facility, the company where the chickens were taken. She is required to report to jail by December 10.

Following her conviction, Rosenberg remained defiant, telling reporters, "I will not apologize for taking sick, neglected animals to get medical care."

In 2023, Rosenberg and other DxE members entered the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse disguised as workers. Inside, they removed four chickens, later named Poppy, Ivy, Aster, and Azalea, and took them to an animal sanctuary for care. The group posted footage of the action online. Rosenberg’s lawyer, Chris Carraway, emphasized during the trial, “It’s not a whodunnit, it’s a whydunnit.”

Rosenberg did not deny taking the chickens but argued that she was rescuing them from a harmful situation. DxE, which has coordinated 60 similar operations across the U.S. since 2014, contends that California’s "right to rescue" laws—designed to protect individuals who rescue endangered animals from vehicles—should also apply to farmed animals in distress.

Petaluma Poultry, however, has criticized DxE, labeling the group an extremist organization with a mission to disrupt animal agriculture. The Sonoma County Farm Bureau echoed these concerns, accusing DxE of harassing farm families and trespassing on private property.

The case has sparked reactions from animal rights advocates, including actor Joaquin Phoenix, who voiced his support for Rosenberg. "When individuals step in to save a life because the system has looked the other way, they should be supported – not prosecuted," Phoenix said in a statement. "We have to decide who we are as a society: one that protects the vulnerable, or one that punishes those who try."

Rosenberg’s case highlights the growing divide between activists seeking to change the system and those who defend the status quo of industrial animal farming. The legal and societal debates around such actions are likely to continue as animal welfare groups press for more protections for farmed animals.

Source: Theguardian.com