California Animal Rights Activist Sentenced to 90 Days in Jail for Chicken Rescue

A California court has sentenced animal welfare activist Zoe Rosenberg to 90 days in jail for taking four chickens from a Perdue Farms poultry plant in Petaluma. Rosenberg, 23, was convicted of felony conspiracy, trespassing, and other charges after a seven-week trial in Sonoma County. The activist, affiliated with the Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) group, argued that she was rescuing the birds from a cruel situation, but a jury found her guilty in October. Rosenberg will serve her 90-day sentence, with the possibility of participating in jail alternates such as house arrest for 60 days. She has also been ordered to serve two years of probation and stay away from all Perdue facilities in the county. The activist has stated that she does not regret her actions, saying she was motivated by a desire to provide medical care to the sick and neglected animals. The chickens, named Poppy, Ivy, Aster, and Azalea, were taken to an animal sanctuary. Petaluma Poultry, a subsidiary of Perdue Farms, has described DxE as an extremist group intent on destroying the animal agriculture industry. The company had maintained that the animals were not mistreated. This is the second time a DxE member has been convicted of a crime related to factory farm protests in Petaluma in recent years.