A crowd of animal rights activists marched through the streets of San Francisco on Saturday demanding that Zoe Rosenberg, a woman convicted of trespassing at a Petaluma farm to take chickens, be released from jail.
Dozens of protesters with Direct Action Everywhere, an animal rights organization that Rosenberg belongs to, banged drums and chanted slogans like “Prosecute animal cruelty, not animal rescuers!”
Rosenberg, a 23-year-old student from University of California, Berkeley, began serving a 90-day sentence at the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility in Santa Rosa last Wednesday.
In October, she was convicted of felony conspiracy and misdemeanor counts of trespassing and tampering with a vehicle after she entered Petaluma Poultry farm in June 2023.
But Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, says that Rosenberg should not face consequences for attempting to rescue chickens from alleged inhumane treatment at Petaluma Poultry.
“Punish cruelty, not kindness!” marchers shouted.
Petitioning for a pardon
Rosenberg is required to serve the first 30 days of her 90-day sentence in jail, after which she is eligible to apply for jail alternatives. She is ordered to serve two years of supervised probation and must pay over $100,000 in restitution to Petaluma Poultry, a subsidiary of Perdue, one of the largest poultry producers in the country.
A petition demanding that Gov. Gavin Newsom pardon Rosenberg has received more than 30,000 signatures, according to DxE.
The group rallying to release Rosenberg held a 12-foot-long banner featuring a link to the website www.freezoe.org where the petition can be found.
DxE also argues that Rosenberg’s health could be compromised if she is incarcerated, saying that jail time is a “potential death sentence” due to Rosenberg having Type 1 diabetes. Rosenberg currently uses an insulin pump and a feeding tube.
The crowd marched from Mission Dolores Park to City Hall.
Emily Guzzardi, a San Francisco resident, said she joined the march to speak out against Rosenberg’s sentence.
“I welcomed the opportunity to show up in solidarity for Zoe, to raise attention about her ridiculously punitive jail sentence, and to continue to speak out for the animals who suffer for our pleasure and convenience,” Guzzardi said in a statement.
Additional marches calling for Rosenberg to be freed from jail also occurred Saturday in Boston and New York City. Another “Free Zoe” march took place Sunday in Los Angeles.