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direct action everywhere
I Rescued 4 Chickens From Abuse; Now I’m the One Facing a Felony Trial
I refuse to accept that helping a few baby birds makes me a criminal, let alone a dangerous one.
Sep 09, 2025
As I write this, a GPS ankle monitor shows law enforcement exactly where I am. This invasive device has been strapped to my leg for nearly two years. It has come with me to family dinners, to doctors’ appointments, to university classes, and more. I have been forced to wear it in order to remain free pending a criminal trial, which begins next week. I face nearly half a decade in jail.
My trial is expected to last several weeks, though there is no doubt that I did what prosecutors say. My alleged crime? Taking less than $25 worth of chicken. This wouldn’t normally lead to felony charges or a government-monitored GPS tracking device. But, you see, the four chickens I took were alive.
In the city of Petaluma, about an hour north of San Francisco, nestled between a Subway and a Starbucks, lies a heavily guarded fortress. Nearly every night of the week, more than 40,000 live birds are driven through its gates. In the mornings, their deceased and dismembered bodies are wrapped in plastic, decorated with claims about sustainability, animal welfare, and a lack of antibiotics. Finally, they’re stamped with the brand names “Rocky the Free Range Chicken” and “Rosie the Organic Chicken.” By the time their bodies reenter the outside world, shipped to grocery stores like Safeway and Trader Joe’s, the birds have been thoroughly objectified, their suffering repackaged as ethical consumption.
This fortress is the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse, a subsidiary of Perdue, one of the nation’s largest poultry producers. In important ways, Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry represents the worst of animal agriculture. Its branding is frighteningly deceptive, the company a master of manipulative marketing. Petaluma Poultry touts the supposed “luxuries” its chickens enjoy, posting seemingly staged videos of birds frolicking in the grass while, in reality, the birds live and die in factory farm conditions. Factory farming is widely known to be horrific, and companies like Petaluma Poultry represent a major obstacle to stopping it: They advertise animal suffering and slaughter as moral goods.
I know how birds at Petaluma live and die because I have been inside its facilities. In 2023, as an investigator with Direct Action Everywhere, I entered multiple Petaluma Poultry facilities. On these factory farms, I found chickens crowded together in filthy barns. One facility had mortality rates more than double the industry standard. Birds were suffering from severe neglect and dying from blood infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria. An investigation of the slaughterhouse found similar trends. One night, in April 2023, over 1,000 chickens from one shipment were condemned post-slaughter when workers opened them up and found their bodies full of infection.
Since 1993, Perdue has claimed its chickens “grow up healthy.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Of the multiple facilities I’ve been inside, I haven’t seen a single chicken I’d describe with such a word. Chickens in the meat industry are systemically unhealthy. They’ve been genetically manipulated to grow three times faster and larger than natural. Their legs collapse as they struggle to hold their own weight. Their hearts fail, and their feet develop pressure sores. The poor health of the birds in Petaluma Poultry facilities is exacerbated by their poor housing conditions and lack of medical care.
In court, I will view myself simply as a representative, a body and a voice, for all of the chickens who have been wronged by Perdue, and by the animal agriculture industry as a whole.
Much of what I have documented at Petaluma Poultry’s facilities is criminal animal cruelty in the state of California. However, repeated reports to law enforcement, over multiple years, have not resulted in any enforcement. Haunted by the knowledge of the immense violence within, I entered Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse on June 13, 2023. Partially disguised as a worker, I stepped into the cool night and approached a truck stacked high with crates crammed full with baby chickens. I rescued four of them, including one I named Poppy, who had an injured toe, a body covered in scratches, and intestines filled with parasites. I got all four birds veterinary care and shared their stories, asking members of the public to join me in calling for immediate action from law enforcement.
The rescue of four little hens finally sparked law enforcement intervention. However, instead of investigating years of reported criminal animal cruelty, law enforcement set off on a mission to gather evidence on what was likely the first act of compassion to be carried out within the slaughterhouse’s carefully constructed walls—and to charge me with crimes.
Months after the rescue, as I was walking toward the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office to once again file a report of documented animal cruelty at Petaluma Poultry, I was placed in handcuffs and arrested on seven counts of felony conspiracy. I was told about warrants obtained to access my cell-phone data and other records. Though some charges have since been dismissed or consolidated, I still face one felony, three misdemeanors, and nearly five years in jail. I have been forced to wear a GPS ankle monitor and adhere to other harsh pretrial release conditions for nearly two years because the government is afraid I might rescue more birds.
Why? It’s certainly not the monetary value of the birds. The value of a relatively healthy chicken raised in agriculture is only a few dollars, and the routine deaths of thousands before they even reach slaughter is deemed the cost of business. Moreover, there are so many animals in these facilities, it is unlikely anyone would have even noticed four chickens were gone if I had not publicized it. Instead, what is threatening is the idea inherent in my actions: that animals are individuals with lives worth living.
I’m a 23-year-old university student. I’ve been rescuing animals from abuse since the age of 11, when I founded my nonprofit, Happy Hen Animal Sanctuary. In the past, I’ve been able to work with law enforcement. Together, we’ve rescued roosters from illegal cockfighting rings and placed farmed animals in loving forever homes. But now, for saving four chickens, my entire future is at stake.
As I’ve gone to court over the past 20 months, represented by the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project, it has become obvious that the prosecutors are trying to make an example out of me to scare other concerned members of the public. But that’s okay. Let me be an example. Let me be an example of courage in the face of repression and of compassion in the face of violence. Let me be an example of just how impossible it will be to stop the movement for animal rights.
I will not apologize for my actions. I will not hang my head in shame. I refuse to accept that helping a few baby birds makes me a criminal, let alone a dangerous one. To apologize would be to say that Poppy, Ivy, Aster, and Azalea deserved the cruelty inflicted on them. It would be to say they deserved to shiver in a crate, covered in scrapes and bruises, as they were eaten alive by parasites. Any apology would be a lie. I am not sorry I saved their lives.
Next week, I will be taking this case to trial. In court, I will view myself simply as a representative, a body and a voice, for all of the chickens who have been wronged by Perdue, and by the animal agriculture industry as a whole. I will tell the jury about the birds I rescued, and the birds failed by Sonoma County law enforcement.
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In 'Stunning' Reversal, Wisconsin Throws Out Case Against Puppy Mill Rescuers
“The state and Ridglan are acknowledging what we knew to be true: we have the right to rescue suffering animals from abuse because they are sentient beings, not things,” said one animal rights campaigner.
Mar 08, 2024
In what one animal rights advocate called a "stunning admission" by Wisconsin prosecutors, the state on Friday dropped its case against three activists accused of rescuing beagles from a large dog breeding facility.
The prosecution, evidently, "prefers to let the defendants walk free than allow the world to see the dire conditions of dogs at Ridglan, and the state trying to jail activists for a heroic act of compassion," said Chris Carraway, an attorney with the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project who represents one of the defendants.
Carraway's client, Paul Darwin Picklesimer, allegedly joined Eva Hamer and Wayne Hsiung in an "open rescue" operation at Ridglan Farms in Dane County, Wisconsin in 2017.
In an open rescue, activists do not hide their identities as they enter facilities including breeding, agricultural, and animal experimentation centers and document the conditions before removing some or all of the animals. The tactic is aimed at publicizing the conditions animals are forced to endure in the facilities.
In the Ridglan case, the three defendants, who are members of the international animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), found dogs who were crammed into small cages that put them at risk of foot and leg injuries; provided no access to the outdoors; forced to live in continuous 24-hour lighting; and living with "noxious air and feces building up beneath the cages."
The group wrote in a report that they "found many dogs wailing, howling, and barking, while others were lethargic and utterly passive... There were no soft beds, no toys, no access to sunlight, no human companionship."
The activists removed three beagles who appeared to be in particular distress, obtained veterinary care for them, and found homes where the dogs are still living, according to DxE. Picklesimer, Hamer, and Hsiung were arrested a year later after they shared information about the operation on social media.
They were charged with one count each of felony burglary and felony theft and faced a potential maximum sentence of 16 years in prison and a $35,000 fine before the state called for the charges to be dropped. Judge Mario White granted the dismissal at a hearing on Friday.
The prosecution said in a motion filed this week that it wanted to prevent the defendants from using a "defense of others" defense, arguing that they should not be protected from liability because they rescued "things" instead of people.
"The state and Ridglan are acknowledging what we knew to be true: we have the right to rescue suffering animals from abuse because they are sentient beings, not things," said Hsiung.
Carraway suggested the state likely wanted to avoid a trial in which the defendants would present the conditions they found during their investigation at Ridglan Farms.
"Each time an open rescue case goes to court, the public can clearly see that the real crime is animal cruelty, not animal rescue," said Carraway.
More than 100 animal rights advocates had been planning to travel from around the country to attend the trial.
"It is more important now than ever that we keep the pressure on to get justice for these animals," said DxE.
Hsiung noted that state inspectors found in 2016 that Ridglan was subjecting dogs to "improper caging conditions" and warned the facility to stop the practice to avoid harming dogs' feet and legs.
As recently as last year, federal inspectors found that the problem persisted at Ridglan.
Hsiung called for a special prosecutor to be appointed by the state to investigate Ridglan so its practices can be made public.
"This legal battle has just begun," he said.
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Hero for Rescuing a Dog, But Facing Prison for Rescuing Birds
It's simply not right that Wayne Hsiung faces 3.5 years in prison for nonviolent animal rescues that should be celebrated.
Nov 22, 2023
My best friend and I co-parent a dog together who he rescued from the infamous Yulin, China dog meat trade.
Since Oliver was rescued from a dog meat farm, he has experienced a lot of trauma. Loud noises, new people, and unpredictable situations give him anxiety. For that reason, Oliver only has a handful of people who he trusts with his life. Wayne Hsiung, his rescuer, is number one on that small list. Wayne is his papa. But in a cruel twist of fate, for the same reason Oliver has Wayne in his life, he’s lost him. Wayne is in jail and facing prison time for rescuing animals. Not in China, but here in the United States, in Sonoma County, California.
Wayne Hsiung and I co-founded the animal rights organization Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), with the belief that all animals deserve to be rescued from harm, just like Oliver. One of the forms of direct action we use is called “open rescue.” That’s where activists go into a place where animals are being harmed, give them care, and remove them to safety, with complete transparency.
That’s what happened at two factory farms in Sonoma County when, after years of the authorities failing to act on evidence of criminal animal cruelty documented by investigators, activists did what the authorities were unwilling to do: expose the abuses and take the animals out.
Oliver isn’t just Wayne’s best friend, he’s Wayne’s hope for a better world where all animals can be safe, happy, and free.
Activists with DxE rescued 37 chickens at Sunrise Farms, and 32 ducks at Reichardt Duck Farm in 2018 and 2019. All in broad daylight, live-streamed by the activists themselves, including me. Hundreds of activists took part. Many of them bravely faced arrest in acts of civil disobedience. But Sonoma County authorities chose to target those they viewed as DxE leadership in an attempt to “cut the head off the snake,” as a member of the District Attorney’s office put it while speaking at a Sonoma County Farm Bureau event.
Some of the activists had their charges dropped. Others, myself included, were faced with few alternatives but to take plea deals. In the end, Wayne alone faced four charges: two counts of trespass, and two felony counts of conspiracy to trespass. After a trial in which evidence of criminal animal cruelty was hidden from the jury, and after six days of deliberation, he was convicted of the two trespass charges and one felony conspiracy charge. He was immediately taken into custody with bail denied, and awaits sentencing on November 30.
Oliver, Yulin dog saved from meat trade, dancing in circlesyoutu.be
Wayne isn’t new to this. He’s faced similar charges for rescuing animals in North Carolina and Utah in just the last few years. He was convicted for rescuing a goat named Rain from a farm in North Carolina. He was acquitted in Utah for rescuing two dying piglets from Smithfield Foods. This is the first time an animal rescue associated with DxE has been incarcerated for open rescue.
I remember when Wayne got back from doing investigations at China’s dog meat farms, including gathering hidden camera footage from the slaughterhouses where dogs are beaten to death. He would have nightmares where he’d wake up screaming with night sweats about all the things he saw. Wayne was suffering from PTSD. But the horror he has witnessed is what propels him forward. Wayne won’t give up on the animals. It’s why he proudly stood for the chickens and ducks in Sonoma County in 2018 and 2019, and why he was proud to be their voice in a Santa Rosa courtroom.
I wish the Sonoma County authorities would look into Oliver’s eyes. They’d see right into the soul of someone who is alive today because of Wayne Hsiung.
And despite District Attorney Bob Waner and Judge Laura Passaglia’s attempts to hide the evidence of animal cruelty from the jury in this trial, the public will see it, and their interest will only grow with the news that an animal rescuer is behind bars.
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. My heart breaks seeing Oliver waiting by the door, wondering where Wayne is. Oliver needs his papa. Oliver needs Wayne just as Wayne needs Oliver. Oliver is his solace and hope in a world where so many animals are being brutalized… animals they’ve both seen being terrorized with their own eyes.
Coming home to Oliver was a reminder that miracles can and do happen. Oliver isn’t just Wayne’s best friend, he’s Wayne’s hope for a better world where all animals can be safe, happy, and free. I look into Oliver’s eyes. They are pure and clear. They’re confused and stressed. I wish the Sonoma County authorities would look into Oliver’s eyes. They’d see right into the soul of someone who is alive today because of Wayne Hsiung. They’d probably have to avert their eyes in shame.
You can learn more about the Sonoma rescue trial at righttorescue.com.Keep ReadingShow Less
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