Jury convicts activist who took chickens from Purdue plant

Cliff Notes

• Zoe Rosenberg, a 23-year-old animal rights activist, has been convicted of trespassing and conspiracy after taking four chickens from a Perdue Farms supplier in Northern California. She faces potential imprisonment of over five years.
• Rosenberg’s defence argued that her actions were motivated by a desire to rescue the chickens from inhumane conditions, while prosecutors maintained that her behaviour was illegal, irrespective of her intentions.
• The trial has generated significant public discourse, with her attorney highlighting substantial taxpayer resources being used to prosecute a case involving a multi-billion-dollar corporation over the fate of animals valued at less than $25.

Jury convicts activist who took chickens from Purdue plant

Animal rights activist Zoe Rosenberg, who is on trial for taking four chickens from one of Perdue Farms’ major poultry plants, is pictured outside Sonoma County Superior Court in Santa Rosa, Calif

Jurors in California, on Wednesday found animal activist Zoe Rosenberg guilty of trespassing and conspiracy for taking four chickens from a Northern California processing plant, said a spokesperson for a group representing her.

Rosenberg, 23, did not deny taking the animals but said she was rescuing them from a cruel situation. She faces more than five years in prison. Rosenberg and her attorneys had said they would appeal if she was found guilty, said Lauren Gazzola, spokesperson for Animal Activist Legal Defence Project.

“Sonoma County spent over six weeks and hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to protect a multi-billion-dollar corporation from the rescue of four chickens worth less than $25,” Chris Carraway, Rosenberg’s attorney, said in a statement.

Rosenberg, an activist with Direct Action Everywhere, removed the chickens from Petaluma Poultry in 2023. The company supplies chickens to Perdue Farms, one of the country’s largest poultry providers for major grocery chains.

Her attorneys argued the case wasn’t about whether she took the chickens — her organisation filmed and released footage — but why she did it. Prosecutors, meanwhile, said she engaged in illegal behaviour regardless of her motivation.

She was on trial for two misdemeanour counts of trespassing, a misdemeanour count of tampering with a vehicle and a felony conspiracy charge.

The trial unfolded in Sonoma County, where agriculture is a major industry. The co-founder of Direct Action Everywhere was convicted two years ago for his role in factory farm protests in Petaluma.