SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — Jurors on Wednesday found animal activist Zoe Rosenberg guilty of trespassing and conspiracy for taking four chickens from a Northern California processing plant.
Rosenberg, 23, did not deny taking the animals, asserting she aimed to rescue them from a cruel situation. She now faces over five years in prison. Following the verdict, her legal team announced intentions to file an appeal, as per Lauren Gazzola, a spokesperson for the Animal Activist Legal Defense 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,” commented Chris Carraway, Rosenberg’s attorney.
As an activist with Direct Action Everywhere, Rosenberg took the chickens from Petaluma Poultry in 2023, a supplier to Perdue Farms, one of the largest poultry providers in the United States.
The legal arguments centered not around the act of taking the chickens, which was captured on film, but rather the motivation behind the rescue. Prosecutors maintained that illegal behavior overrides any justification for her actions.
Rosenberg was charged with two misdemeanor counts of trespassing, a misdemeanor count of tampering with a vehicle, and one felony conspiracy charge. This trial, which unfolded in Sonoma County — an area heavily reliant on agricultural industry — has become emblematic of the ongoing debate around animal rights and corporate agriculture. Notably, a co-founder of Direct Action Everywhere was convicted two years prior for his involvement in similar factory farm protests in Petaluma.
