Trial Begins Monday In Sonoma County For Animal Activist Zoe Rosenberg

SONOMA COUNTY — The trial of Zoe Rosenberg, an animal rights activist accused of trying to take livestock, will begin Monday in Sonoma County.

According to a criminal complaint filed by the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, Rosenberg disguised herself as a worker and tried to take four chickens from poultry company vehicles.

She faces five felony counts and up to five years in prison if convicted of trespassing, conspiracy, and other offenses alleged by the Sonoma County district attorney, including "unauthorized visits" to Petaluma Poultry, owned by Perdue Farms Inc.

Authorities have monitored her movement with a GPS device, which she has worn since her arrest in 2023.

As the trial nears, Sonoma County farmers and industry executives have launched a campaign aimed at Rosenberg and activists like her.

Last week, a petition called "Support Local Farmers" arrived in mailboxes of Sonoma County residents asking them to "stand with Sonoma County's Agricultural Community."

"Here in Sonoma County, we're proud of our agricultural roots — and the people who make it all possible."

Behind the petition is the Sonoma County Family Farmers Alliance, which fought a battle against the animal rights activist group Direct Action Everywhere or DxE in 2014.

The new offensive has pulled in farmers, the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, as well as Trader Joe's that sells Perdue Chicken under a private label.

The petition is now asking the public to engage in the offensive against the 23-year-old on trial.

Direct Action

Rosenberg is a member of DxE.

The group describes itself as a global grassroots network of animal rights activists. Over the past five years, they staged a string of attention-grabbing actions.

In 2021, they spilled "blood" on the steps of Sproul Hall at the University of California, Berkeley because the school contracted with Tyson Foods.

The activists said an investigation into Tyson Foods showed chickens starving to death or unable to get food or water because they couldn't stand or walk.

In June 2024, members of the group confronted Celebrity chef Tyler Florence during a cookbook signing in the city of Napa.

Activists holding large yellow signs reading "Stop Supporting Petaluma Poultry's Criminal Animal Abuse" interrupted the Food Network star as he talked with guests.

They were protesting Florence's partnership with Petaluma Poultry, a subsidiary of poultry giant Perdue Farms.

Chicken is a particular focus for Rosenberg, who co-founded the Happy Hen Animal Sanctuary.

Her most recent arrest was not her first. At 16, she was arrested on live national television at the 2019 NCAA Football Championship Game in Levi Stadium for protesting the facility's ties to a poultry producer that she accused of "horrifically abusing animals."

Until recently, DxE and Rosenberg, might have been dismissed in Sonoma County as weird.

Instead, both are being taken seriously by large, well-financed lobbying groups with a 2025 campaign against "extremists" who pose a serious risk to local farming.

"These outsiders are harassing local farmworkers, don't live here, and don't share our values," according to the Support Local Farmers website. "Their radical goal is to eliminate all animal agriculture, no matter the impact on food prices and the future of our community."

DxE was one of the organizations behind the Coalition to End Factory Farming, which in 2024 orchestrated Measure J against factory farming in Sonoma County.

Opponents unleashed a powerful and well-resourced opposition campaign against the measure, which failed by a wide percentage.

Rosenberg had by then been arrested for taking the chickens from Perdue.

Rosenberg has said that the chickens, which she later named Poppy, Ivy, Aster and Azalea, were covered in scratches, bruises and parasites.

She also faced charges for allegedly entering the Reichardt Duck Farm in Petaluma without permission.

In a social media post, she wrote:

"Over the last several weeks, while the Sonoma County District Attorney's office was busy prosecuting animal rescue, I went back to Reichardt Duck Farm. There, I witnessed the worst animal cruelty I have seen in my time as an investigator."

During a recent Alameda County Supervisor's meeting, Reichardt called DxE "terrorists" who stormed his farm. He singled out Rosenberg.

"Nothing is more important than our local food system," District 5 Alameda County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins said, adding that she was frustrated by people who "foist their dietary choices on us."

Rosenberg and DxE challenge the image of small chicken farmers whose future is under siege in Sonoma County, especially Petaluma Poultry.

Petaluma Poultry, markets its chicken as locally-raised and fresh under the ROCKY and ROSIE labels.

"While some brands may only meet the minimum for what is required to describe their chickens as 'free-range,' we believe that free-range should mean exactly what it implies," according to the corporate website.

"We provide locally raised, fresh organic and free-range chicken with ranches in and around Sonoma County. We also have a feed mill and packing operations in Petaluma," the company said in a corporate communication.

However, Petaluma Poultry is a division of Perdue Farms, which calls itself one of the largest poultry producers in the United States and one of the world’s leading producers of organic chicken, including halal-certified poultry products, no-antibiotics-ever chicken, turkey and pork; as well as commodity products.

The People v. Rosenberg is scheduled to begin 11 a.m. Monday at the Superior Court of Sonoma County in Santa Rosa.