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The truth is coming out in 'right-to-rescue' trial

From Cassie King, Dxe, Direct Action Everywhere
October 2023

In a rare deviation from her usual rulings against showing animal cruelty footage, Judge Passaglia permitted Wayne to show the jury a video he took at Sunrise eleven days prior to the action. The clip showed a hen with a tumor on her eye, who seemed unable to walk properly.

Defendant Wayne Hsiung is on the stand testifying in the #SonomaRescueTrial right now. He began testifying yesterday afternoon and has already told the jury about his background, his early rescue experiences, founding DxE, and what led to the rescues at Sunrise Farms and Reichardt Duck Farm. He explained DxE's commitment to nonviolence, and how, for us, like Gandhi and King, nonviolence is not just about the absence of violence but trying to intervene in violence.

In a rare deviation from her usual rulings against showing animal cruelty footage, Judge Passaglia permitted Wayne to show the jury a video he took at Sunrise eleven days prior to the action. The clip showed a hen with a tumor on her eye, who seemed unable to walk properly.


A Hen with a tumor on her right eye...

Wayne explained how he saw dozens of animals like this, who would very likely starve to death. The Press Democrat covered Wayne's testimony.

On Wednesday, the prosecution rested its case, after calling a total of five witnesses: Michael Weber, co-owner of Sunrise Farms; Leland Trumbo, a construction and maintenance employee of Reichardt Duck Farm; John Reichardt, owner of Reichardt Duck Farm; and Sergeant Daniel Ager and Deputy John Fomasi with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

Reichardt testified that his company raises ducks “humanely” and Trumbo claimed that, to his knowledge, animals are not left for days without food and water and sick birds would not be allowed by the USDA inspector to be processed. But the jury will soon hear the truth.

There are more than a dozen defense witnesses planning to take the stand. They will testify about the horrific things they filmed inside Sunrise and Reichardt, the dead bodies they collected and sent for necropsy testing, the intent they had in taking action to rescue animals, the expert veterinary and legal opinions they provided, and more.  

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