In a case that highlights the extremes to which animal rights activists will go to push their agenda, an activist was recently convicted by a Sonoma County jury of felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from poultry farm protests in the area. His actions are part of a nationwide pattern of activism – and property crimes perpetrated by a group called Direct Action Everywhere.

Wayne Hsiung, a 42-year-old attorney and animal welfare activist, was facing charges for incidents that occurred at Sunrise Farms and Reichardt Duck Farm, where he and his comrades stole chickens and ducks from the premises, alleging that they had been mistreated.

After nearly a week of deliberations, a Sonoma County jury on Thursday found animal welfare activist Wayne Hsiung guilty of one felony and two misdemeanor charges in connection with poultry farm protests near Petaluma in 2018 and 2019.

Hsiung, 42, was convicted of two misdemeanor trespassing counts, one of which is trespassing with the intent to disrupt a lawful business, and a felony charge of conspiracy to commit trespass.

The jury, though, deadlocked on a second felony conspiracy charge.

Following the verdict, three sheriff’s deputies escorted Hsiung, in handcuffs, out of the courthouse in Santa Rosa and through a small crowd of about 18 of Hsiung’s supporters. “We love you Wayne,” a number of them said softly.

In a written statement posted on Substack, Hsiung compared the plight of factory-farmed animals to “the greatest source of terror and suffering in the history of our species.” He took aim at California’s government for not doing enough to protect animals.

Over the last 7 years, our government, which is intended to serve the will of the people, and not the will of powerful corporations, has ignored the most popular ballot initiative in California history, Proposition 2, and failed to bring a single enforcement action to protect tens of millions of animals who remain trapped in cages. Our voters do not know that their democracy is being threatened by corporate influence and corruption.

During the trial, in which Hsiung represented himself, he said the goal of Direct Action Everywhere during the protests and theft was to raise awareness about the mistreatment of the birds and advocate for improving conditions in the industry.

The organization bills itself as a “global network of activists working to achieve revolutionary social and political change for animals in one generation,” according to its website, which also explains that the group rejects “the speciesism that enables the mass torture and killing of nonhuman animals.”

This is not the first time Hsiung has run afoul of the law. In 2021, the activist, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Berkeley in 2020, faced felony charges for stealing a baby goat from a farm in North Carolina.

This is the first time Hsiung has been convicted of felony charges though he faces more than a dozen criminal charges for taking animals from private property in numerous states. Most of the other charges have been dropped or have not yet come up for trial. During his mayoral campaign, Hsiung said he did not think that the jail time he might face would interfere with his ability to be an effective mayor.

The judge in Transylvania County Superior Court sentenced Hsiung to a six-to-17-month suspended sentence for felony larceny and felony breaking and entering. Hsiung will also serve 24 months on supervised probation. The judge ordered Hsiung to pay $250 in restitution to the goat breeder he stole from.

In essence, Hsiung and his organization seek to promote animal welfare by stealing animals they deem to be abused from the businesses and individuals who rightly own them. It is the manifestation of a concept known as “Right to Rescue,” which is a campaign to pass state laws allowing people to steal pets, livestock, and other animals if they believe they are being mistreated.

14 US states have laws that allow the rescue of dogs from hot cars, and Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is leading a campaign to extend these laws to apply to animals of any species in need of rescue, including in factory farms and animal experimentation facilities. The Right to Rescue campaign seeks to build support for animal rescue and ultimately, to establish a legal right to rescue animals from distress and exploitation. This would open the door to a new view of animals under the law - as people deserving of rights, rather than "property.”

There are a myriad of problems with this movement. For starters, the notion that any entity, private or public, would have the authority to steal someone’s property because they disagree with the way it is being handled is absurd. Folks like Hsiung seem to believe it is acceptable to violate a person’s property rights just because they disapprove of how they might use it. In the case of the baby goat, Hsiung took issue with the fact that some of the goats the farmer raised were sold for meat.

This story is a microcosm of an overall agenda to force far-leftist ideology on the public under the guise of helping animals. Indeed, it is one of the most overlooked vehicles through which these people seek to push their agenda in the public and private squares. In this case, Hsiung is facing justice. But there are plenty more like him who engage in the same activities without ever facing consequences, likely because most are unaware that it is happening. Still, this issue might become more prominent in the national conversation as these activists ramp up their efforts to dictate how the rest of us handle our pets, livestock, and other animals.