DxE’s Escalating Assault on Agriculture

Radical Activism Turns into Targeted Harassment

The American agricultural landscape—built on hard work, innovation, and the constitutionally enshrined right to private property—has been under attack for years by animal rights groups, and those attacks seem to be escalating. Leading this escalation is Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), a fringe animal rights activist group whose tactics have evolved from trespassing and farm invasions to orchestrated personal harassment campaigns and coordinated economic disruption efforts. DxE has also backed ballot initiatives and policy changes aimed at banning large modern farms and supporting extreme proposals that would criminalize standard livestock practices. These policy efforts are often deceptively labeled as “transparency” or “humane reform,” when, in reality, they seek to dismantle the very systems that ensure food security and public health.

Their latest actions against Perdue Farms underscore how far this group is willing to go in the name of "animal liberation"—their ramping up of activities is a serious threat to civil liberties and is causing harm to food producers across America.

DxE and the Perdue Farms Campaign Includes Family Harassment

In an escalation of tactics, DxE has moved farther into radical behavior via the use of personal intimidation and harassment, prompting Perdue Foods and one of its executives to seek legal protection.

According to a court filing in Sonoma County, California, Perdue and Jason Arnold, director of operations at Petaluma Poultry (a Perdue subsidiary), are requesting a court injunction against DxE and organizer Almira Tanner. The complaint states that DxE has launched a “campaign of terror” targeting Arnold at his private home, where he resides with his wife and two children.

Over the past year, at least eight demonstrations have occurred directly outside Arnold’s Santa Rosa residence. The complaint states that DxE activists used megaphones, banners with Arnold’s image, and online posts that included his name, photo, and home address. This is a textbook example of doxxing, a form of digital vigilantism. The timing of these protests appears calculated to interfere with ongoing legal proceedings, as Arnold is a potential witness in a criminal trial involving DxE member Zoe Rosenberg, charged with conspiracy related to a 2023 break-in.

The strategies DxE employs not only violate norms of civil protest but undermine basic protections of due process and personal privacy.

DxE Targets Perdue’s Headquarters in Maryland

Simultaneously, DxE has expanded its campaign to Perdue’s corporate headquarters in Salisbury, Maryland, staging protests demanding the closure of Petaluma Poultry’s processing plant in California. The group claims the facility poses a public health risk and is involved in animal abuse—allegations that lack independent verification and are characteristic of DxE’s pattern of smear tactics against lawful businesses.

In anticipation of the protests, Perdue has installed fencing around its headquarters to protect employees and infrastructure from potential disruptions. A company spokesperson emphasized the broader threat of these actions:

“It’s clear that plans to protest aren’t focused on animal welfare. They are part of a broader movement with the goal of ending animal protein of any kind… By potentially disrupting local businesses and creating chaos, they are undermining the very jobs that sustain families in our community.”

— Andrea Staub, Perdue spokesperson

This is a sobering reminder: DxE’s agenda is not about animal welfare, it is about animal liberation. Their ideology seeks to eliminate an entire way of life for millions of Americans involved in animal agriculture. Their ideology also aims to eliminate food choices for American families.

A Pattern of Criminal Conduct

These latest incidents follow a well-documented history of unlawful activity by DxE, including:

• Smithfield Foods (2017): Piglets stolen from a Utah facility; felony charges brought against co-founder Wayne Hsiung and others.
• Diestel Turkey Ranch (2015): Alleged cruelty based on unauthorized video footage; allegations were dismissed in court.
• Golden Gate Fields (2021): Protests during live horse races; legal action taken against DxE.
• Whole Foods Markets: Multiple store invasions led to court-ordered restraining orders.

Each of these cases demonstrates a systematic disregard for private property rights, biosecurity laws, and civil conduct. In addition to those examples, DxE is behind the creation of an animal agriculture and animal enterprise doxxing map website and database called Project Counterglow.

Constitutional and Ethical Implications

The United States Constitution guarantees the right to property, privacy, and protection under the law. DxE’s actions—especially personal targeting of agricultural professionals—represent a violation of those rights. Activism that weaponizes public shaming, digital harassment, and disruption of lawful commerce is not protected by the First Amendment when it infringes on others’ constitutional protections.

Defending Animal Agriculture Protects our Food Security

DxE’s campaign against Perdue Farms and direct harassment of one of its directors and his family marks a new low in a long series of assaults on animal agriculture. The group’s orchestrated efforts are designed to delegitimize, destabilize, and ultimately destroy the foundation of American food production. Their ideological activities are not about animal welfare. Their actions are proving to be centered on control—control over what we eat, how we farm, and who gets to decide.

We must defend animal agriculture by recognizing that DxE’s agenda is an existential threat to private property, rural livelihoods, and national food security.

We have every right to expect that our legal and judicial system will take the appropriate steps to protect our rights to produce healthy, nutritious, and affordable food.

Links:

Article in Watt AgNet - Perdue's Petaluma Poultry seeks legal protection from DxE HERE

Link to Perdue Farms website HERE

Press Release from Perdue Farm's Petaluma Poultry HERE

Article in Meatingplace.com HERE

Article in Meatingplace.com regarding protest at Perdue Farms headquarters HERE

Article about DxE Activity at a Foster Farms facility HERE

Article about a lawsuit DxE filed against Diestel Family Ranch HERE

Article about DxE member impersonating Tyson Foods and Smithfield Foods executives on Fox Business and Newsmax HERE