California Activist Faces Prison in High-Profile Chicken Theft Case

Trial Draws National Attention

SAN FRANCISCO — A California woman accused of taking four chickens from a Perdue Farms facility has drawn national attention as her defense team argues she was rescuing abused animals rather than committing a crime.

Zoe Rosenberg, 23, faces more than five years in prison if convicted. Closing statements in her seven-week trial are scheduled for Tuesday. The case centers not on whether Rosenberg took the chickens — she posted a video of the act online — but whether her actions were justified.

“This is not a whodunit. This is a why-dunit,” said Kevin Little, one of Rosenberg’s attorneys, during opening statements.

Defense Claims Rescue, Not Theft

Rosenberg’s defense argues she acted out of concern for animal welfare after investigating the Petaluma Poultry plant, a Perdue subsidiary, for two months. Her team says she consulted a veterinarian who reviewed images suggesting animals were being boiled alive.

“This was a rescue, not a crime,” said her attorney Chris Carraway.

Rosenberg, a longtime animal rights activist, is affiliated with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), a group known for staging “open rescues” and protests to highlight factory farming conditions.

Prosecution Focuses on the Law

Prosecutors say Rosenberg entered Petaluma Poultry without permission on four occasions, attached GPS trackers to 12 delivery trucks, and removed four chickens from a trailer while about 50 DxE members demonstrated outside.

They argue the case is about her breaking the law, not her motivations. Deputy District Attorney Matt Hobson asked Rosenberg during cross-examination whether she wanted open rescues to happen “everywhere.” Rosenberg answered, “Yes.”

Prosecutors say her actions fit a pattern of coordinated activism aimed at disrupting the meat industry.

Previous Arrests and Broader Impact

Rosenberg was previously arrested in April 2022 after chaining herself to a basketball post during an NBA playoff game to protest alleged animal abuse at another poultry producer, Rembrandt Farms.

As a condition of remaining out of custody before her current trial, Rosenberg wore an ankle monitor while attending classes at the University of California, Berkeley.

She shared updates with her social media followers throughout the case, writing Monday that “an immense amount of government resources have been spent prosecuting me for the alleged ‘crime’ of rescuing four abused chickens.”

Rosenberg also named the birds she took — Poppy, Ivy, Aster, and Azalea — and said they are now safe.

Broader Context in Sonoma County

Sonoma County, where agriculture is a key industry, has prosecuted more animal rights activists than any other U.S. county, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Similar cases nationwide have produced mixed verdicts, leaving activists and prosecutors closely watching Rosenberg’s outcome.

Another DxE activist, Raven Deerbrook, faced similar charges before reaching a plea agreement in June 2024. She testified for Rosenberg last week, saying she helped launch the Petaluma Poultry investigation.

DxE states on its website that its goal is to “shut down slaughterhouses everywhere” and achieve “revolutionary social and political change for animals in one generation.”