[Chicken thief...] Jury convicts activist who took chickens from Purdue plant

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/jury-convicts-activist-chickens-
purdue-plant-126998267

SAN FRANCISCO -- A California animal rights activist who took four 
chickens from a major Perdue Farms poultry plant was found guilty 
Wednesday of felony conspiracy, trespassing and other charges and faces 
several years in jail.

Zoe Rosenberg, 23, did not deny taking the animals from Petaluma Poultry 
but argued she wasn't breaking the law because she was rescuing the birds 
from a cruel situation. The trial lasted about seven weeks in Sonoma 
County, an agricultural area of Northern California.

The Santa Rosa jury took less than a day to find Rosenberg guilty on all 
counts. The activist with Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, a Berkeley-
based animal rights group, was on trial for two misdemeanor counts of 
trespassing, a misdemeanor count of tampering with a vehicle and a felony 
conspiracy charge.

Rosenberg said she does not regret what she did.

“I will not apologize for taking sick, neglected animals to get medical 
care,” Rosenberg said following her conviction. “When we see cruelty and 
violence, we can choose to ignore it or to intervene and try to make the 
world a better place. I chose to intervene, and because I did, Poppy, Ivy, 
Aster, and Azalea are alive today. For that, I will never be sorry.”

The group named the birds and placed them in an animal sanctuary.

Rosenberg walked out of court wearing an ankle monitor and briefly spoke 
to supporters, who were holding signs that read “Prosecute Petaluma 
Poultry” and “Right to Rescue.” She told them she would immediately head 
to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and report animal cruelty at 
Petaluma Poultry.

“We’re going to go now and report Petaluma Poultry and ask them to please 
finally give justice to these animals,” she said.

Rosenberg's attorney, Chris Carraway, said the district attorney's office 
was ignoring criminal animal cruelty in Sonoma County factory farms and 
that he plans to appeal the verdict.

“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,” Carraway said in a statement. “No 
doubt, the District Attorney’s office would never have spent a fraction of 
this time or money if the chickens had been dead in a supermarket meat 
case."

Rosenberg’s sentencing is set for Dec. 3, when she faces a maximum jail 
sentence of 4 1/2 years, Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez 
said.

Rodriguez said in a statement the verdict affirms no one is above the law.

“While we respect everyone’s right to free expression, it is unlawful to 
trespass, disrupt legitimate businesses, and endanger workers and animals 
in pursuit of a political or social agenda," she said.

Petaluma Poultry has said that DxE is an extremist group that is intent on 
destroying the animal agriculture industry. The company says the animals 
were not mistreated.

"The jury’s verdict makes it clear: personal beliefs don’t justify 
breaking the law," Herb Frerichs, general counsel of Petaluma Poultry, 
said in a statement. “DxE members admitted to planning and carrying out 
illegal acts — including break-ins, theft of private data, and stealing 
livestock — under the guise of activism and to gain publicity.”

Frerichs said the company supports the right to free speech and lawful 
protests, but this was not that.

Rosenberg testified she disguised herself as a Petaluma Poultry worker 
using a fake badge and earpiece to take the birds, and then posted a video 
of her actions on social media.

Petaluma Poultry is a subsidiary of Perdue Farms — one of the United 
States’ largest poultry providers for major grocery chains.

The co-founder of DxE was convicted two years ago for his role in factory 
farm protests in Petaluma.

___

This story’s headline has been corrected to say the company name is 
spelled Perdue, not Purdue.


-- 
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Every day is an IQ test. Some pass, some, not so much.

Thank you for cleaning up the disasters of the 2008-2017, 2020-2024 Obama 
/ Biden / Harris fiascos, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.