Animal Rights Activists Protest at District Attorney’s House, Disrupt Parade

Contact: Cassie King, (510) 507-8075, cassie@directactioneverywhere.com

Dozens of animal rights protests and vigils are taking place across Sonoma County this month, including the Animal Liberation March on Saturday, May 24th

Animal rights activists march with banners after walking into the Rose Parade in Santa Rosa on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Credit: Michelle Del Cueto)

Photos and videos from each protest are below:

Protest at the Home of Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez in Windsor (May 18th)

Rose Parade Disruption in Santa Rosa (May 17th)

Protest at Trader Joe's in Petaluma (May 17th)

Protest at Oliver's Market in Santa Rosa (May 16th)

May 19, 2025, Santa Rosa, CA – Over the weekend, animal rights activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) held protests across Sonoma County to elevate animal cruelty at Petaluma Poultry, a subsidiary of national poultry giant Perdue Foods. On Sunday, they delivered their message to Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez with a protest outside her home in Windsor, urging her to finally prosecute Petaluma Poultry for documented criminal animal cruelty. They displayed a large image of DA Rodriguez’s face with the words “I ENABLE ANIMAL CRUELTY.”

Since 2018, DxE investigators have documented routine violations of California's animal cruelty laws at Petaluma Poultry factory farms in Sonoma County, including birds collapsed on the floor or stuck on their backs and unable to access food or water. Sonoma County’s Animal Services Department referred a Petaluma Poultry farm as a suspect for animal cruelty, after examining birds from the farm and finding that they were emaciated, bruised, unable to walk, and had necrotic wounds so deep that muscle and bone were exposed.

The DA’s office has repeatedly ignored these reports, including footage activists obtained this month showing feces-covered birds with open wounds packed on a Petaluma Poultry transport truck. Both private security and police were present blocking DA Rodriguez’s driveway during the peaceful protest outside her home.

The day before, activists disrupted the Rose Parade in Santa Rosa, entering the parade right in front of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau’s float. With banners, signs, and loud chanting, they called for Petaluma Poultry to be shut down. The protesters were able to march all the way to the end of the parade and then join the festival in Old Courthouse Square to pass out information to the public about the conditions at Petaluma Poultry. The annual Rose Parade is sponsored by the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, one of Petaluma Poultry's biggest defenders.

Activists also brought their message inside Oliver's Market in Santa Rosa on Friday evening and Trader Joe's in Petaluma on Saturday afternoon. Both grocery chains sell chicken from Petaluma Poultry, and DxE is urging them to cut ties with the company. Several activists delivered speeches inside and outside the stores, warning customers about the animal cruelty and widespread disease documented at Petaluma Poultry's facilities.

These protests are part of a week of action against Perdue's Petaluma Poultry organized by DxE. The week of action is taking place at the time originally scheduled for the trial of Zoe Rosenberg, a DxE investigator who is being prosecuted by District Attorney Rodriguez’s office for rescuing four ailing chickens from Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse in 2023. Prior to the rescue, Rosenberg had filed multiple reports of animal cruelty with the District Attorney’s office, but was ignored. Her trial was recently delayed until September, over Rosenberg’s objection.

The week of action goes through May 22nd and is immediately followed by the Animal Liberation Conference (ALC) in Santa Rosa, also organized by DxE. The ALC is the largest grassroots animal rights conference in North America. It brings together hundreds of animal rights activists for trainings, guest speakers, and nonviolent direct action for animals.

Investigators with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) enter farms, slaughterhouses, and other facilities to document abuses and rescue sick and injured animals. DxE’s investigatory work has been featured in The New York Times , WIRED , andVox. DxE activists have been subjected to FBI raids and felony prosecutions for their investigative work. In 2022, DxE activists won the first-ever acquittal in an open rescue case. Visit DxE on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter and at directactioneverywhere.com.