Activist attends hearing in Petaluma poultry farm incursion

Animal activists staged an early morning protest outside a Petaluma poultry farm the morning a handful of birds were stolen last year, a police officer testified Friday.

The scene was set during a preliminary hearing for Zoe Rosenberg and Raven Deerbrook, who are charged in a June 13 incursion at Petaluma Poultry on Lakeville Highway.

They’re each charged with four felony counts of conspiracy and one misdemeanor count each of trespassing, petty theft and tampering with a vehicle.

On Friday, Petaluma police Officer David Arbivo testified about 50 people protested outside Petaluma Poultry about 2:30 a.m. June 13.

A security guard reported four protesters entered the property through a cut in a chain-link fence and fled with five or six birds from a company vehicle.

“He estimated the loss was of $100 to $150,” Arbivo testified.

The activity is linked to Direct Action Everywhere, or DXE, a controversial Berkeley-based organization involved in protests and incursions across Sonoma County.

Members contend they have a right to rescue animals in distress and have staged protests outside poultry farms, sometimes chaining themselves to property and entering property to remove animals.

Multiple members have been arrested and a co-founder, Wayne Hsiung, was convicted last year in a conspiracy and trespassing linked to two Petaluma area facilities.

Rosenberg has been identified as a DXE member, but Deerbrook’s attorneys say she’s only an associate. A DXE news release for Friday’s hearing references Rosenberg but makes no mention of Deerbrook.

Both their attorneys questioned Arbivo about whether evidence proved their clients were present June 12.

An investigation showed the four people who took birds fled in a Nissan Pathfinder, which was identified as a rental using its license plate.

Rosenberg’s attorney, Chris Carraway, said to Arbivo, “You do not know if Miss Rosenberg was one of the four individuals?”

The officer replied, “No.”

People entered the property through an 18-inch-high cut in the fence.

Deerbrook’s attorney, Izaak Schwaiger, had her stand up and asked Arbivo if it appeared she could fit through the hole. The officer said he didn’t know.

According to testimony from a Petaluma police detective, surveillance footage showed two people entering Petaluma Poultry on four occasions prior to June 13. Each time they were filmed taking photos of the property.

Testimony was expected to continue into Friday afternoon as the defendants were flanked by more than 20 supporters.

They gathered outside the courthouse with signs promoting their right to rescue animals.

Friday’s hearing comes days after a state report raised the possibility DXE members may have factored into a recent outbreak in avian flu.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture report references multiple potential causes, including the possibility that the pathogen was introduced by employees.

DXE has denied responsibility, instead highlighting faults on the part of poultry farms.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi