Closing arguments are getting closer in the Chicken Rescue Trial which is now garnering global news coverage, achieving a key goal of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), the animal rights group defendant Zoe Rosenberg helps lead.

An in-depth report in The Guardian, based in the UK, laid out the case, noting the defense would “….explain in court that Rosenberg’s intent was not to steal the birds, but to aid them. The jurors would be asked to determine, in effect, how far compassion can go before it becomes a crime.”

The 23-year old Rosenberg testified Friday that she had observed poor conditions with her own eyes at one of the factory farms that supplies the slaughterhouse from which she rescued 4 chickens, named Poppy, Ivy, Aster and Azalea. Indeed, The Guardian also listed the problems DxE said they found, writing, “…they allege that during clandestine visits to six northern California factory farms that supply chickens to the company, they found routine violations of state animal cruelty laws, including ‘birds collapsed on the floor or stuck on their backs and unable to walk to food or water, left to slowly starve to death.’ They also reported wing and joint injuries, open sores, feather loss and ‘necrotic wounds so deep that muscle and bone were exposed.’”

For Direct Action Everywhere, such mainstream media coverage is a victory in itself, even if defendant Rosenberg is risking about half a decade behind bars to get those allegations reported.

Of course, The Guardian also reported the company’s response, namely: “Animal care is at the heart of everything we do. Birds have room to roam, access to the outdoors and natural enrichments and are raised on a healthy, antibiotic-free diet. Independent audits from the USDA and Global Animal Partnership regularly verify our compliance with strict free range and organic standards, and USDA personnel are on-site at our harvesting facility daily to oversee operations.” We invite the company on any time to respond further.

These wildly differing accounts of the same facilities is why UnchainedTV is calling for LIVE, public cameras in all California slaughterhouses and factory farms, something California Assemblyman Ash Kalra (D) San Jose says he’s willing to look into.

As the trial hits week 7, one must wonder how the jurors are holding up. If they are resentful of so much of their time being taken up for a case involving 4 chickens, which side might suffer as a result?

Now, to get the very latest, UnchainedTV’s Jane Velez-Mitchell hosts an expert panel and reporter Madhu Anderson at the courthouse.