Despite being sued by Trader Joe's, activists with the grassroots animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) continue to protest at their stores. On July 19, the group held a 40-minute funeral for the chickens being sold inside the store located on College Avenue in Oakland. They mourned the countless chickens who suffer and die at Trader Joe's "free-range," "organic" chicken supplier, Petaluma Poultry.

Petaluma Poultry is a subsidiary of Perdue Foods, the fourth largest poultry producer in the United States. Trader Joe's sells Petaluma Poultry chicken in its own Trader Joe's-branded packaging. Over the past seven years, DxE investigators have documented systemic animal abuse at Petaluma Poultry factory farms in Sonoma County and its slaughterhouse in Petaluma. DxE activists have repeatedly emailed, called, and delivered physical letters to Trader Joe's headquarters in Monrovia, CA, detailing the issues at Petaluma Poultry and urging the retailer to cut ties. Activists have also protested at dozens of Trader Joe's stores across the country in recent months.

In early July, Trader Joe's sued DxE, its SF Bay Area chapter, and five individuals in Alameda County Superior Court, seeking an injunction barring activists from using Trader Joe's property "as a forum for the expression of their views." The lawsuit describes animal rights protests at Trader Joe's locations in Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Petaluma, and Santa Rosa, where DxE activists urged Trader Joe's to cut ties with Perdue's Petaluma Poultry.

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