California activist gets jail time for taking chickens from Perdue Farms plant

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SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — A California animal welfare activist who took four chickens from a major Perdue Farms poultry plant was sentenced to 90 days in jail after being convicted of felony conspiracy, trespassing and other charges.

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. A jury found her guilty in October after a seven-week trial in Sonoma County, an agricultural area of Northern California.

Rosenberg was sentenced on Wednesday and ordered to report to the Sonoma County Jail on Dec. 10. She will serve the 90 days, but 60 of those may involve jail alternates, such as house arrest, the county's district attorney's office said. Rosenberg will also have two years of probation, and she is ordered to stay away from all Perdue facilities in the county.

The activist with Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, a Berkeley-based animal rights group, has 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.

The group named the birds — Poppy, Ivy, Aster, and Azalea — and placed them in an animal sanctuary.

Petaluma Poultry has said that DxE is an extremist group that is intent on destroying the animal agriculture industry. The company maintains that the animals were not mistreated and said Wednesday's sentencing upholds the rule of law.

“We’re grateful that DxE has been held to account for its unlawful campaign –- training and paying staff to carry out dangerous, unauthorized intrusions onto private property," Herb Frerichs, general counsel for Petaluma Poultry, said in a statement Thursday. “DxE’s actions show a reckless disregard for employee safety, animal welfare, and food security.”

Rosenberg testified that 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.