Activists Disrupt Oakland Trader Joe's Over Sale of Chickens from Perdue Farms

Contact: Cassie King, (510) 507-8075, cassie@directactioneverywhere.com

VIDEO

DxE activists dressed in biosecure suits hold caution tape in front of the meat aisle inside Trader Joe’s in Oakland, CA on March 29, 2025. (Credit: Michelle Del Cueto)

PHOTOS & VIDEOS (Credit: Direct Action Everywhere)

March 29, 2025, OAKLAND, CA -- On Saturday afternoon, dozens of activists with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) disrupted the Trader Joe's store at 5727 College Avenue in Oakland, urging the national grocery chain to stop purchasing chickens from Petaluma Poultry, a subsidiary of poultry giant Perdue Farms. Petaluma Poultry operates multiple factory farms in Sonoma County and the Central Valley.

The protest spotlighted the zoonotic pathogens found at Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry, including salmonella, campylobacter, antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus, and Clostridium perfringens. Some of the protesters were dressed in the type of biosecurity suits that are required for investigations and held yellow caution tape in front of the store’s meat section, which contains chickens slaughtered at Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse, as identified by the USDA plant code 2882 .

Protesters delivered speeches in front of the meat section and the checkout lanes to inform customers about the animal cruelty and health risks at Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry. Then, they continued to protest outside the store with additional speeches and chanting. They held signs and banners reading “Drop Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry” and handed out information to customers entering and exiting the store. .

Since 2018, DxE investigators have documented routine violations of California's animal cruelty laws at Petaluma Poultry factory farms in Sonoma County, including birds collapsed on the floor or stuck on their backs and unable to access food or water. Additionally, as reported by The Press Democrat, USDA reports from the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse show it has four times the national rate of campylobacter and four times the state rate of salmonella, two pathogens that commonly cause illness in humans.

“I want to know why Trader Joe’s is continuing to support Perdue’s animal cruelty and endangering consumers,” said Conrad de Jesus, an Oakland resident who participated in the protest. “They’ve seen the evidence of sick and injured animals languishing without medical care at Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry. It’s time they cut ties with this awful company.”

DxE investigator Zoe Rosenberg is facing one felony and four misdemeanors for openly rescuing four suffering birds from the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse in June 2023. Her trial begins May 16, 2025.

Investigators with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) enter farms, slaughterhouses, and other facilities to document abuses and rescue sick and injured animals. DxE’s investigatory work has been featured in The New York Times,WIRED, and Vox. DxE activists have been subjected to FBI raids and felony prosecutions for their investigative work. In 2022, DxE activists won the first-ever acquittal in an open rescue case. Visit DxE on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and at directactioneverywhere.com.