Hi John,

In a shocking turn of events, the case against Tracy Murphy, founder of Asha’s Farm Sanctuary, was just dismissed! Tracy was facing a larceny charge which carried up to a year in jail all because she provided care to two cows who wandered onto her property. During pre-trial arguments yesterday, it was revealed that law enforcement committed serious constitutional violations during the investigation, including destroying the "evidence” which in this case was the cows, Ismael and Little Willow, who were slaughtered. As a result, Judge Gary Strenkoski ruled that no evidence about the cows could be presented, rendering the prosecution’s case impossible.

Additionally, the supervising investigator in the case, who also directed the seizure of the cows, is the brother-in-law of the purported owner of the cows, New York State Trooper Scott Gregson, and this major conflict of interest was not disclosed to the defense until just before trial.

Watch UnchainedTV’s coverage of the news with Tracy Murphy to learn more! And please spread the news about this victory for the #RightToRescue on your social media.

While we’re already going full steam ahead into October, I want to take a moment to share some highlights from September.

The public image of Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry continues to crumble
  • Local celebrity chef Veronica Eicken cut all ties with Petaluma Poultry, and as far as we know, the company has no remaining brand ambassadors
  • Local health professionals were center stage at a rally outside the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse, sounding the alarm about the public health risks stemming from factory farms and slaughterhouses
  • Trial dates for the Perdue Rescue Trial will be set later this year. The sole defendant, Zoe Rosenberg, had a court date early in September where her felony burglary charge was officially dropped! One felony conspiracy charge and four misdemeanor charges remain. 
Measure J is sparking national conversations
  • Measure J is the Sonoma County ballot measure to phase out factory farms, formally called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. 
  • DxE factory farm investigator Lewis Bernier and Measure J organizer Kristina Garfinkel went head-to-head against factory farm operator Mike Weber and an attorney in a highly publicized debate. You can watch the full debate here - and see the moment where Lewis renders Mike speechless here.
  • The campaign received widespread media attention including in the Associated Press, which was re-published in the Washington Post and other outlets, a thorough segment on KQED, and continued coverage in the local Press Democrat.
  • Over 125 volunteers took action to support Measure J in September alone, allowing us to do dozens of banner drops, talk to thousands of voters at their homes or on the phone, and more.
Berkeley’s factory farm ban ballot measure, Measure DD, also ramped up last month. Supporters marched through the streets of Berkeley, put up hundreds of yard signs and posters, and outreached at the Farmers’ Market.

It’s incredible that we have generated so much attention around the harms of animal agriculture and the need to move away from this awful system. Thank you for being part of this movement.

Almira

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