Animal activist Zoe Rosenberg told jurors Friday she “rescued” four chickens from Petaluma Poultry out of concern for animal cruelty, not as part of a criminal conspiracy.
Testifying in her own defense in Sonoma County Superior Court, Rosenberg rejected prosecutors’ claims that she helped plan a series of break-ins at the company’s Lakeville Highway facility in spring 2023. She said she joined the investigation only after others had already entered the property.
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“I’m grateful that (the chickens) were able to get the care that they need,” Rosenberg said when asked by her attorney, Chris Carraway, how she felt about the incident.
Carraway questioned her through much of Friday afternoon before Deputy District Attorney Matthew Hobson began cross-examination. After about 30 minutes, Judge Kenneth Gnoss ended proceedings and ordered the trial to resume Monday afternoon. Rosenberg is the third — and possibly final — witness to testify on her behalf.
Prosecutors allege Rosenberg entered Petaluma Poultry multiple times that spring, accessed company computers, placed GPS trackers on delivery trucks and removed four chickens from a trailer while about 50 members of her activist group, Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, demonstrated outside.
Authorities arrested her that November outside the courthouse, shortly after DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung was sentenced to 90 days in jail and two years’ probation in a similar trespassing and conspiracy case. If convicted, Rosenberg faces a sentence ranging from probation to five years in jail.
On the stand Friday, Rosenberg denied tampering with computers or attaching GPS trackers. She supported testimony from Raven Deerbrook, a former DxE member who told jurors Thursday she began investigating Petaluma Poultry in April 2023 — weeks before Rosenberg’s visits — and later shared her findings.
“I thought she was a very thorough and experienced slaughterhouse investigator,” Rosenberg said of Deerbrook.
Rosenberg said she visited the facility on May 21 to see conditions for herself. She testified that Deerbrook — not she — searched files that night and brought bolt cutters weeks later to access the property through a gate June 13. That night, Rosenberg said, she removed four chickens from a trailer.
Deerbrook was later arrested but reached a plea agreement with prosecutors last year.
The trial began Oct. 6. Prosecutors rested Oct. 10 after calling three witnesses who described findings from their investigations.
The defense opened Monday with testimony from DxE member Carla Cabral, who said Rosenberg delivered the rescued chickens to her after the June 13 visit. Prosecutors questioned Cabral’s ties to Rosenberg and the group before Deerbrook and Rosenberg took the stand.
Rosenberg told jurors DxE practices “open rescue,” meaning activists do not hide their identities when removing animals from industrial farms. She said she has shared her findings with law enforcement and posted regular case updates online.
Testimony will continue Monday before the case moves to closing arguments later next week.
