Zoe Rosenberg, a California-based animal rights activist and founder of Happy Hen Animal Sanctuary, is facing up to five years in prison. Her crime? Rescuing four chickens—named Poppy, Ivy, Aster, and Azalea—from a poultry facility where she says they were suffering in dangerous, neglectful conditions.

Zoe openly admits to the rescue. She entered the Petaluma Poultry facility, owned by Perdue Farms, removed four birds, and then publicly documented the conditions she witnessed. She says she reported those conditions to law enforcement and posted about the rescue online. Her approach is part of a movement known as “open rescue”—a form of nonviolent civil disobedience where activists act transparently and without concealment to save animals in distress.

But instead of investigating the conditions inside the facility, authorities are prosecuting Zoe for felony conspiracy and multiple misdemeanors. Perdue has accused her of theft and “agro-terrorism,” and prosecutors claim she disrupted business operations. The facility temporarily shut down after the rescue, citing contamination concerns.

Zoe’s case is not just about chickens—it’s about whether compassion is a crime. We don't prosecute people for breaking a window to save a dog in a hot car. So why should someone face prison time for saving animals from documented suffering—especially when they acted transparently and in good faith?

This case could set a dangerous precedent. If prosecutors succeed, future whistleblowers, rescuers, and advocates could be silenced—not for committing violence, but for preventing it.

We are calling on the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office to drop the charges against Zoe Rosenberg and to stop targeting animal rescuers who act nonviolently and in the public interest. We also urge California lawmakers to pass stronger protections for rescuers who expose animal cruelty and act transparently to stop it.

Add your name if you believe rescuing animals from suffering should be met with protection—not prison.