Breaking news and publications from Direct Action Everywhere.
Media inquiry? Please email press@dxe.io.
PRESS
August 30, 2024
San Francisco Chronicle
In dimly lit indoor aisles at Weber Family Farms in Petaluma, hundreds of thousands of white chickens live out their 90 weeks of life. They fly from perch to perch. They dust bathe in the bedding. They nip at water dispensers. They lay egg after egg. And they never leave. These barns are at the heart of a bitter fight that Mike Weber and Samantha Faye are waging for the future of local farming.
PRESS
August 30, 2024
San Francisco Chronicle
PRESS
October 6, 2023
Press Democrat
[Direct Action Everywhere/DxE] argues they believed the animals were being mistreated. Referencing California’s animal cruelty laws, they contend they had the right to rescue animals in distress.
PRESS
October 6, 2023
Press Democrat
PRESS
October 6, 2023
Davis Vanguard
In Deputy District Attorney Robert Waner’s opening statement, the prosecutor told jurors Hsiung and DxE activists believe that compassion should be extended to all animals.
PRESS
October 6, 2023
UnchainedTV
The judge in the Sonoma rescue trial of animal rights activist Wayne Hsiung has ruled against allowing him to show videos of suffering ducks and chickens to the jury.
PRESS
October 5, 2023
North Bay Business Journal
Hsiung told jurors Thursday the activists support transparency and their ultimate goal is to expose mistreatment of animals. “You cannot fight a shadow with more shadows. You fight a shadow with light,” he said.
PRESS
October 5, 2023
North Bay Business Journal
PRESS
October 4, 2023
The Daily Illini
Open rescue doesn’t just win legal victories — it raises larger societal questions about how animals ought to be treated. If animals have a right to be rescued, should we even allow them to be exploited or killed in the first place?
PRESS
October 4, 2023
The Daily Illini
PRESS
October 3, 2023
KTVU/Fox 2
"It's tragic, but it's not that surprising," [activist] Paul Darwin Picklesimer said. "The deaths are just simply inherent. No matter what they do, there are always going to be deaths."
PRESS
October 3, 2023
KTVU/Fox 2
BLOG
October 1, 2023
To everyone who doesn’t believe in a better world, I understand. I feel your pain and I know how hard it is to keep going in a world as painful as ours. But, just a glimmer of hope saved Vincent’s life and it might just save the rest of the animals, too. So please, don’t give up.
PRESS
September 25, 2023
Davis Vanguard
Hsiung is proceeding to trial as his own attorney, facing multiple felony conspiracy charges for his involvement in mass protests where hundreds of activists openly rescued animals at factory farms in Sonoma County in 2018 and 2019.
PRESS
September 25, 2023
Davis Vanguard
PRESS
September 22, 2023
Press Democrat
Priya Sawhney pleaded no contest to two counts of trespassing and was ordered to do 100 hours of community service through the Sonoma County Volunteer Center.
PRESS
September 22, 2023
Press Democrat
TOP PRESS
February 23, 2022
The New Republic
DxE investigators are pressing for a trial they hope will go down as a pivotal moment in the history of the animal rights movement.
TOP PRESS
January 30, 2022
The Intercept
The government wants to keep juries from seeing gruesome evidence of animals in distress, demonstrating yet again the massive power corporations wield in our current system.
TOP PRESS
January 23, 2022
The Guardian
DxE's investigation of ventilation shutdown is probably the most important investigation in more than a decade, said Justin Marceau, an animal law scholar and professor at the University of Denver.
TOP PRESS
December 8, 2021
Democracy Now!
In conversation with host Amy Goodman, DxE investigator Wayne Hsiung asks “Are the living creatures of this Earth property, or are they living creatures that deserve some form of dignity and respect?”
TOP PRESS
December 6, 2021
The Guardian
This case is about smashing the myth of benevolent small-scale farms, which may talk of free-range and happy animals, but still ultimately treat animals as property and slaughter them for profit.
TOP PRESS
September 29, 2021
The Sacramento Bee
TOP PRESS
September 29, 2021
The Intercept
BLOG
September 10, 2024
If people do not believe that they can change a situation, they will never act to do so. If we do not believe that animal liberation is possible and that we can make it happen, it never will. In fact, animal agriculture and other unjust systems rely on our hopelessness and cynicism.
BLOG
April 29, 2024
My findings show that “No Antibiotics Ever” just means that the chickens are still experiencing severe infection but they aren’t receiving the medication they desperately need. In one barn at a Petaluma Poultry factory farm in Santa Rosa, more than 10% of the chickens died by the time they reached 5 weeks. That is more than double the accepted industry mortality rate.
BLOG
December 26, 2023
The Sonoma County Court's actions didn't stop me but, instead, spurred me to further action just as it did for many others.
BLOG
December 2, 2023
Whether I lose my freedom for days, weeks, months, or even years, it is worth it to give even one or two animals a chance to experience freedom for the first time in their entire lives.
BLOG
October 1, 2023
To everyone who doesn’t believe in a better world, I understand. I feel your pain and I know how hard it is to keep going in a world as painful as ours. But, just a glimmer of hope saved Vincent’s life and it might just save the rest of the animals, too. So please, don’t give up.
BLOG
August 30, 2023
If you saw a little duckling on his back, paddling his legs and struggling to get back up, what would you do? Would you keep walking? Or would you help him?
BLOG
July 1, 2023
Since 2018, DxE investigators have documented routine violations of California's animal cruelty laws at Petaluma Poultry factory farms, but the authorities refuse to intervene -- so they are taking action themselves to rescue the animals.
BLOG
June 5, 2023
Your story on the shutdown of the Kentucky Derby racetrack failed to provide important context: the growing worldwide movement to abolish horseracing.
BLOG
May 23, 2023
During my time in Utah, I found people willing to have open and honest discussions. Why, then, are high-ranking members of the Church and the police attempting to stop that from happening? Could it be that egregious abuses documented by DxE at Smithfield were getting too close to those in power? When open dialogue threatens a power structure, it’s time to scrutinize that power structure.
PRESS RELEASE
December 11, 2021
26 horses have died at the facility this year
PRESS RELEASE
December 5, 2021
Protestors, including felony defendants, call for Rose’s Law: Animal Bill of Rights
PRESS RELEASE
December 5, 2021
Supporters say rescue of sick baby goat was an act of compassion
PRESS RELEASE
November 22, 2021
While Smithfield demands prison for Utah activists, this turkey farmer defends their actions, and is even helping them rescue more
PRESS RELEASE
November 16, 2021
“No More Factory Farms” campaign asks legislators to prohibit the construction of new factory farms and slaughterhouses
PRESS RELEASE
October 29, 2021
“Red Light, Green Light” demonstration inspired by hit show dramatizes activists’ concerns about animal cruelty and supply chain transparency
PRESS RELEASE
October 27, 2021
UCB administrators claim the world’s largest chicken producer doesn’t use factory farming
PRESS RELEASE
October 13, 2021
Company has faced nuisance lawsuits for waste pollution sprayed on local communities, resulting in hundreds of millions in judgements against it
PRESS RELEASE
September 28, 2021
11 peaceful activists from the same group are still in custody on over $1 million total bail, following California slaughterhouse blockade Tuesday
