A defense witness in Northern California’s closely watched Chicken Rescue Trial just threw prosecutors a curve ball asserting that she - not the defendant- was the one who launched a series of late night forays into the slaughterhouse. If the jury accepts that someone else - other than the defendant - initiated the investigations that culminated in the defendant’s rescue of 4 chickens, could that deal a blow to the prosector’s attempts to convict defendant Zoe Rosenberg of felony conspiracy, the most serious charge?

This key witness is Raven Deerbrook, a woman who has achieved national recognition for daring undercover investigations into industrial agriculture, particularly slaughterhouses. Deerbrook said it was she who began investigating the Petaluma slaughterhouse in April of 2023 after reading about the facility online, entering twice at night and only telling defendant Rosenberg afterwards about what she saw. Deerbrook said the defendant then joined her on yet another incursion into the slaughterhouse in May. Ultimately, in June of 2023, Rosenberg rescued 4 chickens she described as sick and suffering from a truck inside the slaughterhouse.

Deerbrook pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors in a plea deal several months ago. On the stand, she said she’s the one who cut through the fence, put GPS trackers on the trucks and brought in the buckets used to remove the chickens.

The company, Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry, denies allegations of animal cruelty, asserting it has high animal welfare standards and calling the defendant and animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (Dxe) extremists with a radical agenda. The company is invited on any time to comment further.

UnchainedTV, pointing out that there are two completely opposing descriptions of the treatment of chickens inside these facilities, is now calling on a modern-day solution to resolve the discrepancy: cameras in all factory farms and slaughterhouses. The network is calling for legislation requiring live cameras inside all facilities, including slaughterhouses, housing farmed animals, live video that is to be available for viewing by the general public online.
Now, UnchainedTV’s expert panel of attorneys and analysts join host Jane Velez-Mitchell and reporter Matthew Zirbel, who is live at the courthouse, for the very latest.