Animal welfare activist sentenced to jail for stealing chickens from Perdue Farms plant
Animal rights activist Zoe Rosenberg, was found guilty of taking four chickens from one of Perdue Farms’ major poultry plants. AP
A California animal welfare activist was sentenced to 90 days in jail for taking four chickens from a major Perdue Farms poultry facility, after being convicted of felony conspiracy, trespassing, and other charges.
Zoe Rosenberg, 23, admitted to taking the birds from Petaluma Poultry but argued she was rescuing them from mistreatment. In October, a jury in Sonoma County, an agricultural region in Northern California, found her guilty following a seven-week trial.
Rosenberg was sentenced on Wednesday and must report to the Sonoma County Jail on Dec. 10. She is to serve 90 days, although 60 days may be served under alternatives such as house arrest, according to the county’s district attorney. In addition, she will serve two years of probation and is prohibited from entering any Perdue facilities in the county.
Rosenberg, a member of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), a Berkeley-based animal rights group, said she does not regret her actions. “I will not apologize for taking sick, neglected animals to get medical care,” she said after her conviction. The rescued birds—named Poppy, Ivy, Aster, and Azalea—were placed in an animal sanctuary.
Petaluma Poultry criticized DxE as an extremist organization aiming to disrupt the animal agriculture industry, maintaining that the animals were not mistreated. Rosenberg testified that she disguised herself as a worker using a fake badge and earpiece to remove the chickens and shared a video of the act on social media. Petaluma Poultry is a subsidiary of Perdue Farms, one of the largest poultry suppliers in the U.S.
Two years ago, a co-founder of DxE was convicted for participating in similar factory farm protests in Petaluma.
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