Animal Rights Activist Vs Corporate America
When we become vegan, we commit to a philosophy that rejects the legal classification of sentient beings as mere property. This ethical conflict often places animal rights activists directly in the crosshairs of the powerful industrial machine they seek to expose. Nowhere is this tension more tragically clear right now than in the case of Zoe Rosenberg, a prominent 23-year-old diabetic with gastroparesis activist and investigator for Direct Action Everywhere (DxE).
The Caavakushi team is sounding the alarm because the cost of her compassion is now threatening her life.
The Facts: Rescue, Conviction & A Six-Figure Fine
The facts of Zoe’s case are widely publicized, although the narrative depends on whether you ask the activists or the industry.
In June 2023, Zoe and her team entered a facility belonging to Petaluma Poultry (owned by Perdue Farms) and removed four sick chickens—named Poppy, Ivy, Aster, and Azalea—who were subsequently taken to a sanctuary. Zoe and her lawyers maintain this was an “open rescue,” an act of civil disobedience meant to expose what they claim was animal cruelty and to rescue beings in distress.
The court disagreed. In October 2025, after a seven-week trial, a Sonoma County jury convicted Zoe on a felony conspiracy charge along with three misdemeanors (including trespassing and tampering with a vehicle).
The final sentencing, delivered on December 3, 2025, was chillingly punitive:
– A minimum of 30 days in county jail (with 60 more days on alternatives like house arrest).
Two years of formal probation.
– A staggering fine of more than $100,000 in restitution owed to the multi-billion dollar corporation, Petaluma Poultry, for disruption and alleged losses.
The prosecutor’s statement insisted that the activists’ claims of cruelty were unsubstantiated, but Zoe remains unwavering: “I will not apologize for taking sick, neglected animals to get medical care.” This conviction sends a brutal message: the US law will protect corporate profits over acts of mercy.
A Life Threatening Sentence
For most, 30 days in jail is a devastating loss of freedom; for Zoe Rosenberg, it could be life-threatening. The Caavakushi team has noted the serious concerns raised by her legal defense team and supporters regarding her complex health conditions.
Zoe lives with Type 1 diabetic with gastroparesis, a chronic digestive disorder that severely limits her body’s ability to digest food and requires specialized care. She wore a feeding tube throughout her trial just to manage the symptoms.
When someone relies on specific medical equipment, precise insulin schedules, and tailored dietary care, any interruption or failure to administer treatment in a correctional facility poses an existential risk. Zoe herself stated that she is “scared that in jail I won’t have access to the specific medical equipment and care I need.”
The court ordered her to report to custody on December 10th. Time is not just short; it is potentially fatal because she’s a diabetic with gastroparesis.
The Power Of The Vegan Community
This is not a time for passive reflection; it’s a moment for active, unified response. Zoe Rosenberg’s fight is our fight. Her sacrifice highlights the inherent hypocrisy in a system that prosecutes those who intervene to stop suffering while protecting the companies causing it.
The Caavakushi team fully supports the urgent push by Zoe on her latest Tiktok video & her supporters to petition the relevant authorities, including the Governor of California, for clemency or a pardon that would protect her from the dangerous jail sentence due to her being diabetic with gastroparesis. Our collective voice holds statistical power. Just as we use our purchasing decisions as ethical votes, we must use our advocacy to fight for those on the front lines.
The Caavakushi team find this ridiculous. How can saving less than five chickens result in over $100,000 in damages claimed by the chicken company, that Zoe now needs to pay back? Not forgetting the imprisonment of a very sick individual, that stepped in and stopped animal cruelty. The math ain’t mathing! Somebody make it, make sense. Just sounds like some creative accounting was going on there. It doesn’t look to us like the American legal system works. In fact, it looks broken or crooked?
We need to demonstrate that the vegan community will not allow its heroes—who act against animal cruelty—to be financially ruined or have their lives endangered for showing compassion. The sentence of Zoe Rosenberg is an attack on the moral compass of every vegan, and we must respond with overwhelming solidarity.
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