Activists Protest Animal Cruelty at Perdue Slaughterhouse

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

April 26, 2025, PETALUMA, CA --On Saturday afternoon,members of the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) held a highly visual protest outside Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse in Petaluma, where approximately 49,000 chickens are killed daily. The activists faced drivers on Lakeville Highway and displayed a large cutout showing the face of Jason Arnold, the Director of Operations for Petaluma Poultry, with a speech bubble reading "I TORTURE CHICKENS." Additionally, protesters held smaller cutouts of Arnold's face with the same text over their own faces. Protesters also displayed large banners reading "49,000 animals killed here every day" and "PerdueAbuse.com."

(DxE) held a highly visual protest outside Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse in Petaluma, where approximately 49,000 chickens are killed daily. The activists faced drivers on Lakeville Highway and displayed a large cutout showing the face of Jason Arnold, the Director of Operations for Petaluma Poultry, with a speech bubble reading "I TORTURE CHICKENS." Additionally, protesters held smaller cutouts of Arnold's face with the same text over their own faces. Protesters also displayed large banners reading "49,000 animals killed here every day" and "PerdueAbuse.com."

DxE investigators have documented systemic animal abuse at Petaluma Poultry factory farms and its slaughterhouse, including evidence of birds who were scalded alive and birds suffering from infectious diseases that threaten public health. DxE says the findings demonstrate clear violations of California Penal Code Section 597 , which prohibits subjecting an animal to “needless suffering” or inflicting “unnecessary cruelty upon the animal."

Protesters are calling on Jason Arnold, the top person in charge at Petaluma Poultry, to finally address findings of criminal animal cruelty at the slaughterhouse. Arnold has ignored all attempts at a dialogue about these findings and earlier this month, he filed a lawsuit along with Perdue Foods against Direct Action Everywhere to stop protests outside his residence. Activists say that as long as animal cruelty is ignored, they will continue to speak up for the victims and hold those in power accountable.

DxE has held many vigils and protests at the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse since 2017, including over two dozen vigils since January. These vigils typically take place in the nighttime or early morning when trucks bring chickens to the slaughterhouse under the cover of darkness. During these vigils, activists have sometimes been able to film the crowded, stacked cages of the transport trucks carrying thousands of birds into the facility. (See some recent footage here.)

DxE investigator Zoe Rosenberg, 22, is currently facing a felony prosecution in Santa Rosa, CA for rescuing four suffering birds from a slaughter truck at the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse in June 2023.

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 , Instagramc, Twitter and at directactioneverywhere.com .