After nearly a month of testimony and arguments, a Sonoma County jury on Wednesday found Berkeley animal activist Zoe Rosenberg guilty of conspiracy and misdemeanor charges stemming from her role in a 2023 incursion at Petaluma Poultry, a case that became the latest flashpoint in the region’s simmering conflict between animal rights advocates and the agricultural industry.
Jurors reached their verdict after about three and a half hours of deliberation, convicting Rosenberg, 23, on all counts. She faces up to five years in jail when she returns for sentencing, though probation is possible.
The verdict marks a major victory for prosecutors and a setback for DxE, the Bay Area-based animal rights group known for high-profile demonstrations and “open rescues” in which members remove livestock from farms they accuse of cruelty. The group has drawn national attention — and frequent backlash — for its confrontational tactics.
Rosenberg was charged with one felony conspiracy count and three misdemeanors connected to two early-morning trespasses at Petaluma Poultry in spring 2023. Prosecutors alleged she and fellow activists entered company property, searched files and attached GPS trackers to vehicles before taking four chickens from a trailer June 13, 2023, as supporters rallied nearby.
Rosenberg admitted removing the birds — later named Poppy, Ivy, Aster and Azalea — but insisted the act was a “rescue,” not theft. Her attorneys argued she acted out of moral duty to save animals she believed were suffering, citing video evidence DxE later shared online.
Prosecutors countered that the operation was planned, deliberate and designed for publicity. Deputy District Attorney Matthew Hobson told jurors Rosenberg’s actions were a stunt, pointing to social media footage and DxE promotional videos.
Surveillance footage, investigator statements and timing linked to Rosenberg’s birthday and DxE’s annual Animal Liberation Conference formed the backbone of the prosecution’s argument that the incursion was deliberate.
Judge Kenneth Gnoss barred Rosenberg’s legal team from using a “necessity defense,” which would have allowed them to argue she acted to prevent greater harm. Without that tool, defense attorney Chris Carraway instead sought to cast Rosenberg as a passionate advocate driven by conscience, not criminal intent.
During testimony, Rosenberg detailed her background as an animal rights activist and founder of a sanctuary in San Luis Obispo, describing how her childhood experience raising chickens shaped her beliefs. She attends UC Berkeley but paused her studies during the trial.
Court proceedings stretched through most of October, occasionally delayed by evidentiary disputes, limited afternoon sessions and Rosenberg’s health challenges. Prosecutors began questioning her on a Friday and continued into Monday before proceedings ended early Oct. 21, when she became ill. She missed court the following day.
According to her social media posts, Rosenberg has gastroparesis — a paralyzed stomach that prevents food from moving normally. She receives nutrients through a feeding tube that delivers sustenance directly to her intestine. Rosenberg said she was hospitalized last month before pretrial motions began. Little was said of her condition during the trial.
The prosecution rested after four days, while the defense’s case took twice as long. At least two DxE members who had been called as potential witnesses invoked their Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.
Among the defense witnesses was Carla Cabral, who testified that Rosenberg had given her the rescued chickens and that they appeared in poor health. On cross-examination, Cabral acknowledged she was also a DxE member and vegan advocate.
Rosenberg’s co-defendant, Raven Deerbrook, reached a plea deal earlier this year and testified that she initially investigated Petaluma Poultry on her own before Rosenberg joined her in May 2023.
Prosecutors also referenced Rosenberg’s past activism — including a 2022 incident where she chained herself to a basketball hoop during an NBA game — as evidence of a pattern of disruptive tactics intended to attract media attention.
In his closing arguments Tuesday, Hobson said the defense offered little evidence to support Rosenberg’s claim that the four chickens were in poor condition. He argued Rosenberg had relied largely on information from individuals who shared her views and goals, noting she received legal guidance from Bonnie Klapper, a former federal prosecutor who has served as legal counsel for DxE.
DxE members have faced similar criminal cases across the country, with mixed results. In October 2022, two activists were acquitted of burglary and theft after removing two piglets from a Utah pork producer’s farm. That was followed in March 2023 in Merced County, where two members were found not guilty of misdemeanor theft after taking two chickens from a Foster Farms facility.
Rosenberg’s arrest in November 2023 came after DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung was sentenced to 90 days in jail and two years’ probation in a similar Sonoma County case. Since then, the group’s presence has expanded, staging demonstrations outside Trader Joe’s, blocking delivery trucks, and backing a 2024 ballot measure to restrict large-scale poultry and livestock operations — a proposal voters overwhelmingly rejected.
The group even sponsored a billboard along Highway 101 in Petaluma, asking whether Rosenberg should go to prison for “rescuing” a chicken. Prosecutors unsuccessfully tried to have it removed, arguing it could influence jurors.
During the trial, dueling press releases from DxE and the Sonoma County Farm Bureau reflected the polarized atmosphere surrounding the case.
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