Agribusiness Accused of spying on ‍Animal rights Activists, Sharing Data With FBI

⁤ Updated June ⁤03, 2025

For nearly a decade, top lobbyists and representatives ⁣from the agricultural industry in America allegedly conducted a covert campaign to monitor,⁤ discredit, and suppress animal rights organizations. Hundreds of emails and internal documents reveal that the⁤ effort included corporate spies infiltrating meetings⁣ and acting as informants‍ for the FBI.

Documents obtained by Property of the People detail a collaboration between the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD) and the Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA). The⁣ AAA, a trade group representing farmers,⁢ ranchers, and veterinarians, allegedly supplied federal agents with intelligence‍ on groups like Direct ⁤Action Everywhere (DxE) since at least 2018.

The industry’s ⁣mission,according⁣ to the records,was to convince⁢ authorities that animal rights activists posed a “bioterrorism” threat to the U.S. Spies working for the AAA reportedly ‍obtained photographs, audio recordings, and other materials from undercover operations at ⁢activism meetings. These ties ⁣with law⁣ enforcement ‍were allegedly used to shield industry actors from⁢ scrutiny, push ⁢for investigations into critics, and reframe animal rights protests ⁤as a national security concern.

The records ⁣also suggest that state authorities have used protests as justification ⁤to conceal details about disease outbreaks at factory farms.

zoe Rosenberg, an animal cruelty investigator at DxE, said that she was ⁣not surprised by ‍the surveillance. Rosenberg is ⁤currently facing⁤ charges in California for removing chickens from a slaughterhouse in Sonoma County in ⁤2023. She faces a felony count of conspiracy, ⁢with the prosecutor citing avian ⁣flu concerns and portraying her ⁢as a “biosecurity risk.”

Rosenberg said⁢ DxE follows biosecurity protocols ⁣exceeding⁣ industry ⁢standards,including quarantining investigators from birds for a week before and after farm visits.⁤ She added that investigators shower, wear freshly washed clothes, and sanitize everything⁣ before and after entering facilities.

Rosenberg acknowledged removing the ‍chickens, stating, “Generally, if we feel an animal is going to die from neglect or maltreatment ⁢if we don’t remove them from the facility, then we feel that‍ it is justified and necessary to step in to save their life.”

“If anyone should have the ear of law enforcement, it’s animal cruelty ⁤investigators‍ exposing rampant violations of the law leading to real animals suffering and dying horrific⁢ deaths,” rosenberg⁣ said.

Her attorney, Chris Carraway, said that DxE tried‍ reporting ⁣health⁤ violations at the facility without success.⁤ Rosenberg said⁤ that reporting violations often results in being passed between agencies, with no one taking responsibility for enforcing animal welfare laws.

what’s next

The⁤ legal proceedings against Rosenberg will continue, and ⁤further investigations into the alleged collaboration between the agricultural industry⁢ and law enforcement are anticipated.