Why A Culture War Rages in California’s Chicken Rescue Trial

The closely watched Chicken Rescue Trial unfolding in a Santa Rosa, California courtroom raises the question: does the suffering endured by chickens in industrialized animal agriculture count in the eyes of the law?

Los Angeles, California, October 22nd, 2025 – Can food processors be held legally accountable for animal cruelty? That question is at the heart of a fierce courtroom battle in Northern California. The defense says yes, of course. Just because animals are killed for food doesn’t mean they don’t feel pain and suffering. But, prosecutors argue that food processing facilities cannot be held legally accountable for animal cruelty. What? Is that why authorities never investigated the many, many allegations of animal cruelty in slaughterhouses presented to them over the years by Direct Action Everywhere, known as DxE? As DxE members point out, there are animal cruelty laws on the books in California.

The culture war over industrialized animal agriculture and what goes on behind the closed doors of factory farms and slaughterhouses has burst out into open court, leading UnchainedTV to call for LIVE cameras in all California slaughterhouses and factory farms, with LIVE footage beamed to the public.

WATCH THE PANEL DISCUSSION OVER THE CULTURE WAR IN COURT

Defendant Zoe Rosenberg, a 23-year old UC Berkeley undergrad, faces half a decade in prison for rescuing 4 chickens, she described as sick and suffering, from a slaughterhouse. She is someone whose love of animals, and chickens in particular, stems back to childhood. She founded a farmed animal sanctuary called Happy Hen Sanctuary when she was only 11, with the help of her veterinarian mom.

However, prosecutors are trying to paint this DxE member as a radical animal rights activist and the company in question has described her chicken rescue as bordering on “agro terrorism.” Zoe’s supporters say the terrorism is what’s being to done to chickens on the slaughter line. Zoe has maintained seeing evidence of birds flailing on the kill line and being scalded alive.

Defense witness Carla Cabral, an activist and vet tech who examined the 4 rescued chickens, described them as listless, caked in feces, unable to stand, with one suffering an injured toe and the other showing signs of a bacterial infection.

The company denies the cruelty allegations saying it has the highest animal welfare standards. They are invited on UnchainedTV any time to offer more of their perspective.

SOLUTION: LIVE, PUBLIC CAMERAS IN ALL SLAUGHTERHOUSES AND FACTORY FARMS

Due to the wildly conflicting characterizations of conditions at Perdue factory farms and slaughterhouses, with the company calling itself a leader in animal welfare and the activists calling its treatment of the animals extreme cruelty, UnchainedTV is now publicly proposing a solution: LIVE cameras in all California factory farms and slaughterhouses with no blind spots and with the public able to view the live footage online. The network is hoping legislation at the state or federal level can be proposed. Globally, this approach is gaining traction. England, Scotland, Spain, and Israel already require CCTV cameras in slaughterhouses.

Now, with Zoe on the witness stand, facing fierce cross-examination, the battle is over what prosecutors can show regarding her past protests. They will reportedly be able to mention that she once interrupted an NBA playoff game by chaining herself to the basketball stand.

The trial is now in its finishing up its 6th week and heading into its 7th week. Are jurors getting irritated and, if so, at which side? The Sonoma County DA’s appearance in the courtroom gallery is a sign of how much is at stake in this case, which has garnered national media coverage and turned into a battle over the ethics of factory farming, where – globally – more than 80 billion land animals are raised – produced – and killed every year. Ironically, the value of these 4 rescued chickens has been described as being about 24-dollars… if they were healthy, which the defense says they were not. How much have taxpayers spent on this prosecution? Millions? We may never know.