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Breaking news and publications from Direct Action Everywhere.

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PRESS

Animal Activist Sentenced to Three Months in Jail for Open Rescue

November 30, 2023

Plant-Based News

From his jail cell, where he was held for four weeks awaiting sentencing, Hsiung published blog posts reaffirming his belief in the power of non-violent direct action. He also reported successes in educating fellow inmates on veganism and animal rights.

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PRESS

Animal Activist Sentenced to Three Months in Jail for Open Rescue

November 30, 2023

Plant-Based News

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PRESS

Conviction of Leading Animal Activist Could Ignite a Populist Revolution

November 23, 2023

Countercurrents

The conviction of Hsuing could be a flashpoint in this “next frontier.” Because it shows just how broken the legal system is, his story could help advance the development of a grassroots movement to liberate nonhuman animals. It also presents us with a choice: Live in a system where the government ignores animal cruelty laws—or save the animals those laws were meant to protect.

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PRESS

Conviction of Leading Animal Activist Could Ignite a Populist Revolution

November 23, 2023

Countercurrents

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PRESS

The Turkey Pardon Is a Perfect Emblem of Our Very Dumb Politics

November 22, 2023

The New Republic

Virtually all turkeys raised in the United States come from crowded concentrated feeding operations—CAFOs, or factory farms. Investigations by animal rights groups like Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, have shown that the same farms that provide the well-groomed, handsome birds for White House events raise the rest of their animals in hellish conditions.

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PRESS

The Turkey Pardon Is a Perfect Emblem of Our Very Dumb Politics

November 22, 2023

The New Republic

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PRESS

Hero for Rescuing a Dog, But Facing Prison for Rescuing Birds

November 22, 2023

Common Dreams

I hate seeing Wayne go through this. I’m tired of the legal maneuverings by those with power to maintain a world that hurts the most vulnerable.

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PRESS

Hero for Rescuing a Dog, But Facing Prison for Rescuing Birds

November 22, 2023

Common Dreams

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PRESS

An Animal Activist Was Found Guilty After Rescuing Farmed Animals – Here’s Why He Did It

November 16, 2023

Plant-Based News

“Open rescue is one of the most powerful tools that we have to challenge animal cruelty," [said animal rescuer Zoe Rosenberg]. “When you look into a factory farm and you see thousands of animals suffering, it’s so easy to desensitize yourself and get lost in the numbers and the immeasurable suffering. But when you identify an individual and connect with them, it’s life changing. Every single one of those animals in those facilities is an individual.”

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PRESS

An Animal Activist Was Found Guilty After Rescuing Farmed Animals – Here’s Why He Did It

November 16, 2023

Plant-Based News

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PRESS

Animal Rights Defender Wayne Hsiung Convicted of Felony for Rescuing Factory Farm Animals

November 13, 2023

Democracy Now!

“If you or I tortured an individual dog, we would clearly be subject to the criminal laws of the state of California. Yet, when a factory farm does this on massive scale, on a scale a million times larger than an individual person abusing a single animal, it’s seen as industry standard, and therefore completely immune from prosecution.”

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PRESS

Animal Rights Defender Wayne Hsiung Convicted of Felony for Rescuing Factory Farm Animals

November 13, 2023

Democracy Now!

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PRESS

Commentary: Farm Bureau Tries to Stifle Citizen-Led Initiative

November 10, 2023

Petaluma Argus Courier

We can work together to start the transition away from these destructive factory farms and use our collective power to build a better world.

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PRESS

Commentary: Farm Bureau Tries to Stifle Citizen-Led Initiative

November 10, 2023

Petaluma Argus Courier

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TOP PRESS

You’re More Likely to Go to Prison for Exposing Animal Cruelty Than for Committing It

November 9, 2023

Vox

Hsiung’s trial and conviction show the extraordinary difficulty of trying to discuss what happens to animals on factory farms in a legal system that only sees them as property. At both factory farms in this case, DxE had documented gruesome conditions prior to their open rescue actions and had submitted animal cruelty complaints to authorities (though no action was taken by legal officials, King said). Yet it was the activists, not the farm owners, who were criminally charged and had to explain themselves to a jury.

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TOP PRESS

You’re More Likely to Go to Prison for Exposing Animal Cruelty Than for Committing It

November 9, 2023

Vox

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TOP PRESS

This Is the Ops Manual for the Most Tech-Savvy Animal Liberation Group in the US

November 8, 2023

Wired

For the first time, guerrilla animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere reveals a guide to its investigative tactics and toolkit, from spy cams to night vision and drones. Bernier says that DxE decided to publicly release its guide, even in the wake of Hsiung’s conviction, to help activists who are already committed to carrying out covert investigations do their work more safely and effectively.

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TOP PRESS

This Is the Ops Manual for the Most Tech-Savvy Animal Liberation Group in the US

November 8, 2023

Wired

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Our Top Press Hits

TOP PRESS

The animal rights protesters disrupting Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders rallies, explained

May 5, 2020

Vox

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TOP PRESS

Who Are the Anti-Dairy Protesters Who Interrupted Joe Biden’s Big Night?

March 4, 2020

The New York Times

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TOP PRESS

Animal rights group claims it found animal neglect at facility owned by state senator

January 25, 2020

The Hill

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TOP PRESS

Factory farm industry quietly lobbies California officials to criminalize animal rescue activism

January 9, 2020

The Intercept

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TOP PRESS

When doing the right thing makes you a criminal

December 5, 2019

Vox

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TOP PRESS

Meet the Activists Risking Prison to Film VR in Factory Farms

December 5, 2019

Wired

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TOP PRESS

Stealing Lauri

August 4, 2019

The New York Times

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TOP PRESS

Protestors collect secret cash to oppose fur ban proposed in California, documents reveal

July 10, 2019

The Intercept

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TOP PRESS

Meet the Animal Rights Activists Facing Prison Time for Rescuing Ducks, Piglets from Factory Farms

June 6, 2019

Democracy Now!

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DxE's Blog

BLOG

Believing Is the First Step to Animal Liberation

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.

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BLOG

Ten Things You Need to Know About the Company Trying to Put Me in Prison

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.

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BLOG

Newcomer's Perspective

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.

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BLOG

I’m Facing over 20 Years in Prison for Rescuing Animals, But I Am Not Afraid

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.

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BLOG

A Baby Chicken Taught Me to Never Give Up Hope. His Name is Vincent.

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.

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BLOG

This Disabled Duck is at the Center of a Felony Case. His Name is Bruce.

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? 

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BLOG

Exposing Petaluma Poultry

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.

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BLOG

A Letter to the Editor Re: "Churchill Downs to Cease Racing as It Investigates Deaths of Horses"

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.

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BLOG

Free Speech under Attack in Rural America

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.

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Our Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE

Golden Gate Fields Horse Racing Track to Shut Down Following Years of Protests

July 17, 2023

“This closure is a win for horses and for vulnerable humans who are taken advantage of by the gambling industry,” says Rocky Chau, a DxE activist who was arrested during a protest on the GGF track in March 2021.

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PRESS RELEASE

Waves of People Rescue Sick Animals from Perdue's Petaluma Poultry Slaughterhouse, Following an Investigation Finding Rampant Abuse and Disease

June 13, 2023

Hundreds are gathered outside the slaughterhouse calling on the Sonoma County District Attorney to prosecute Petaluma Poultry for documented criminal animal cruelty and infectious diseases that are endangering public health

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PRESS RELEASE

Mice and Fish Rescued from Petco During Animal Liberation March in San Francisco

June 10, 2023

While hundreds rallied in support of the right to rescue animals from abuse, a few activists delivered “feeder” mice and suffering betta fish to safety.

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PRESS RELEASE

Trial Finally Scheduled for Animal Rights Activists Facing Felonies for Rescues in Sonoma County

May 31, 2023

Recent similar trials in St. George, UT and Merced, CA resulted in groundbreaking acquittals for open rescuers.

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PRESS RELEASE

NY Congresswoman Calls on FBI to Investigate Animal Rescue

May 5, 2023

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney wants federal funds used to surveil people who support rescuing animals in distress.

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PRESS RELEASE

Sebastopol City Council Passes Historic Resolution to Support Factory Farm Investigators Facing Prison Time in Sonoma County

May 3, 2023

Animal rights activists are calling this a win for the right to rescue animals from abuse.

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PRESS RELEASE

Animal Rights Activist Found Guilty for Leafleting about Factory Farms

April 25, 2023

A Beaver County Judge convicted Curtis Vollmar of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct for talking to members of the public about Smithfield Foods.

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PRESS RELEASE

UC Law Summit Explores Impact and Implications of Historic Animal Rights Trial

April 24, 2023

The “Right to Rescue” is a hot topic after a California jury acquitted two activists who removed sick birds from a Foster Farms slaughter truck. Jurors, defendants, attorneys, and law professors gathered to discuss the verdict's meaning for laws related to corporate animal abuse, animal rescue, and animal personhood.

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PRESS RELEASE

Chicken Rescuers Acquitted in Historic “Right to Rescue” Case

April 16, 2023

A California jury found two women “not guilty” for rescuing sick birds from a Foster Farms slaughter truck.

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