Hi John,

October revealed both the power and the pain of this work. We celebrated the incredible news that Ridglan Farms, the second largest beagle breeding facility in the US, is finally shutting down, years after DxE investigated the facility and rescued three dogs from inside. Less than 24 hours later, we grieved as a jury in Sonoma County convicted animal rescuer Zoe Rosenberg of felony conspiracy and three misdemeanors for saving four chickens from a Perdue slaughterhouse. 

I am deeply disappointed by this verdict, and I am disgusted that Deputy District Attorney Matt Hobson tried to send Zoe immediately to jail and that District Attorney Carla Rodriguez lied and refused to even accept a report of criminal animal cruelty from Zoe. But the Ridglan Farms victory reminds me that we never know when the story is over. One chapter may have closed in the Perdue Rescue Trial, but our work is far from done.

I am proud of what we accomplished during trial.
  • This case garnered over 100 press hits, including a dozen in major outlets and multiple front-page stories, with comment sections that were overwhelmingly positive, showing the power of open rescue trials to sway public opinion 
  • Nearly 200 people mobilized to provide in-person court support, and over 400 people attended our post-verdict Zoom call on one day’s notice
  • Attorneys Chris Carraway of the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project and Kevin Little successfully fought to get some animal cruelty and slaughterhouse footage introduced in court
  • Activists kept the pressure on Perdue and Trader Joe’s by disrupting Perdue’s Animal Care Summit in Maryland and seven Trader Joe’s grand openings across the country
Our attorneys are already working on an appeal. A win there would not only overturn Zoe’s conviction, it would give us the opportunity to make case law for animals. But appeals take a long time, and justice cannot wait. Here are three ways that you can take action right now to support Zoe and the animals, and make this repression backfire.
  1. Attend Zoe’s sentencing hearing in person at 12:30pm on Dec 3rd, 2025 at 600 Administration Drive in Santa Rosa. RSVP at dxe.io/rsvp. 
  2. Ask Trader Joe's to cut ties with Perdue's Petaluma Poultry. Sign our petition and ask all your friends and family to do the same. Better yet, if you are in the US, organize or participate in a demonstration outside your local Trader Joe's. All you need is one other person and a sign - check out the simple instructions here. Trader Joe's is one of Petaluma Poultry's biggest buyers - if they cut ties, it would have a significant impact on their continued operation! 
  3. Become a monthly donor. Throughout trial, I’ve been running a membership drive to support our work. A generous supporter is donating $100 for every new monthly donor of any amount, and monthly donors of $25/month or more can receive a Right to Rescue mug. Tomorrow is the last day to get your donation matched and get the mug, and we are 18 donors away from our goal. Please consider signing up today.
Thank you for being a part of this chapter. On to the next,

Almira

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