Throughout 2024, DxE got hundreds of requests from the press. Many of the inquiries were about Measure J, as well as Measure DD, another historic ballot measure to ban factory farms in Berkeley, California. Measure DD, which garnered international coverage, passed with 62% of the vote. Other times, the press was asking for DxE to comment on breaking news that involved animals, or diving into our latest investigation into the nation’s largest lamb slaughterhouse. From the LA Times and SF Chronicle to Politico, Vox and more, I helped get animal rights discussed in the mainstream. 

After returning home from the KQED studio that day in October, I corresponded with reporters at The Intercept and The Press Democrat, as well as with volunteers on DxE’s press team. I led the weekly DxE press meeting that evening with a group of incredible volunteers who workshop our press releases and expand our network to include more journalists. We discussed the upcoming court date for animal rescuer Zoe Rosenberg and strategized about the key narratives around our campaigns.

Finally, that evening, I celebrated the 7-year rescue anniversary of one of my bunnies, Jonah. DxE activists rescued Jonah from a dirty cage inside an Oakland slaughterhouse on October 22, 2017. He was waiting to be picked out by a customer at any moment and brought to the kill floor in the back. But instead of becoming someone’s meal, he was carried outside in broad daylight, right in front of police who were at first unsure whether to arrest the activists or address the clearly injured and distressed animals inside this cruel place.