Activists Disrupt Petaluma's Parade to Protest Event Sponsor's Animal Cruelty

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

VIDEO Animal rights activists disrupt the Butter and Eggs Parade in Petaluma, CA on April 19, 2025. (Credit: Direct Action Everywhere)

PHOTOS & VIDEOS (Credit: Direct Action Everywhere)

April 19, 2025, PETALUMA, CA --On Saturday afternoon, animal rights activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) disrupted Petaluma's annual Butter and Eggs Day Parade , an event sponsored by poultry giant Perdue Farms' Petaluma Poultry subsidiary, which sells under the brand names “Rosie, the Organic Chicken” and “Rocky, the Free Range Chicken." Petaluma Poultry operates multiple industrial chicken farms in Sonoma County and the Central Valley. For years, the company has faced complaints of animal cruelty and abnormally high rates of pathogens .

Shortly after noon, two pairs of protesters walked into the parade at different points along the route holding banners that read "Perdue's Petaluma Poultry Boils Chickens Alive" and "Free Rosie: Shut Down Perdue's Petaluma Poultry." As they marched in the parade past hundreds of onlookers, they loudly repeated, "Perdue's Petaluma Poultry boils chickens alive." Parade staff at first tried to block the path of the first pair of protesters before leaving and allowing the pair to march in the parade all the way to the end of the route. The first pair of protesters then rejoined the parade where the other pair of protesters were and marched with them to the end. Petaluma City Councilmember Alex DeCarli called the protesters "psychos" as they marched past him.

Other DxE activists, including two dressed as Petaluma Poultry's cartoon chicken mascots “Rosie, the Organic Chicken” and “Rocky, the Free Range Chicken," handed out information to attendees detailing the company's abuses.

"Much like Petaluma Poultry's marketing, this entire event puts a glossy, cartoon finish on an industry rife with cruelty and disease," said Connie Pearson of Glen Ellen. "People have a right to know how animals in our county are being subjected to needless cruelty like being scalded alive just so Perdue can maximize its profits."

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. Sonoma County’s own Animal Services Department referred a Petaluma Poultry farm as a suspect for animal cruelty, after examining birds from the farm and finding that they were emaciated, bruised, unable to walk, and had necrotic wounds so deep that muscle and bone were exposed.

"Don't fall for their humane marketing scam," said Jared Krimsky, a North Bay resident who participated in the protest. "Perdue's Petaluma Poultry wants to seem family-friendly but their practices endanger workers and public health and cause chickens to be boiled alive, something no one attending today’s parade supports. Together we can stand up to Perdue and show them we won't tolerate their cruelty any longer."

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 .