Vanguard Sacramento Bureau Chief
SANTA ROSA, CA – Another felony burglary count filed against Zoe Rosenberg—an animal rescuer with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE)—was tossed by prosecutors here this last week, according to a statement by DxE provided to The Vanguard.
Rosenberg, originally charged with numerous felonies and misdemeanors in Sonoma County, is being prosecuted for “removing four chickens from Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse in June 2023,” said DxE.
“Defense attorneys for Ms. Rosenberg filed a 995 motion arguing that the evidence does not support the charges against her, which prosecutors conceded with respect to the burglary count. The court is expected to dismiss the charge at Ms. Rosenberg’s next hearing on Sept. 4,” DxE added.
“Prosecutors have known the facts of this case for nearly nine months, and they still can’t figure out what to charge,” said Chris Carraway, Rosenberg’s lawyer and a staff attorney at the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project. “It clearly isn’t easy to paint a good Samaritan as a criminal.”
DxE explained, “This will be the third time that charges have been dismissed in Ms. Rosenberg’s case. She was initially charged with five felonies, but prosecutors dropped one felony earlier this year after defense attorneys alerted the court that it was not a chargeable offense…in May, at the conclusion of Ms. Rosenberg’s preliminary hearing, Judge Lynnette Brown dismissed three of the remaining four felonies, based on a lack of sufficient evidence presented at the hearing.”
DxE added, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s office filed new charges, including the felony burglary count, which is the one that was just dropped.
Rosenberg still faces one felony and four misdemeanors, and more than five years in prison, said DxE, adding Rosenberg was “arrested in November, while en route to deliver evidence of animal cruelty at Petaluma Poultry to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office.”
“Petaluma Poultry is a ‘free range’ and partially ‘organic’ subsidiary of Perdue Farms, the fourth largest poultry producer in the United States. It supplies to major grocery chains including Trader Joe’s and Safeway. Petaluma Poultry lost its celebrity ambassador, Food Network chef Tyler Florence, this month when Florence decided to cut ties with the company following repeated protests by DxE,” said DxE in a statement.
Rosenberg and other activists with Direct Action Everywhere have reported to authorities unlawful animal cruelty at Petaluma Poultry and other county factory farms, but, said DxE, “While authorities have aggressively prosecuted animal rights activists, they have taken no action to address the extensive documentation of animal cruelty. In response, activists have rescued sick and injured animals themselves, rehabilitating them back to health, and finding them permanent homes at sanctuaries.”
“At trial, I will be fully transparent about what I’ve done, and what the authorities have failed to do, to help abused animals,” said Rosenberg. “Hopefully, a jury of my peers will agree that taking an animal who is sick to get medical care is not a crime.”
“Since 2018, DxE investigators have documented routine violations of California’s animal cruelty laws at several Petaluma Poultry factory farms in Northern California and the company’s slaughterhouse, including birds collapsed on the floor or stuck on their backs and unable to walk to food or water, left to slowly starve to death; birds with splayed legs; birds with open wounds; and infectious diseases that threaten public health,” detailed DxE.
The group claims the “findings demonstrate clear violations of California Penal Code Section 597. In particular, birds who are collapsed and unable to walk cannot access food and water, and it is a crime to deprive animals of ‘necessary sustenance, drink, or shelter.’”
