OCTOBER 6, 2025, SANTA ROSA, CA – A jury heard opening statements today in the high-profile trial of animal rescuer Zoe Rosenberg, which began last month. A 12-person jury was sworn in on Thursday, 10/2, after seven days of jury selection. Over 300 potential jurors were summoned, significantly more than the usual number, due to extensive pre-trial publicity about the case. Ms. Rosenberg is charged with felony conspiracy and three misdemeanors for her June 2023 rescue of four chickens from Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse. Her charges carry a maximum sentence of nearly five years in jail.
Ms. Rosenberg is represented by Chris Carraway, Staff Attorney at the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project (AALDP) and Kevin Little of the Law Offices of Kevin G. Little. In 2023, Mr. Carraway successfully represented another animal rescuer who was acquitted of theft charges for rescuing a bird from a slaughter truck.
Mr. Little delivered the defense’s opening statement today. He detailed Ms. Rosenberg’s extensive attempts to report what she believed to be unlawful animal cruelty at Petaluma Poultry prior to the 2023 rescue, including to the USDA, local police, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, Sonoma County Animal Services, and to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, “the very office prosecuting her today–and she was told they weren’t interested,” said Mr. Little…