A protest at the Cal Poly Meat Processing Center today led to three individuals being arrested, according to university spokesperson Matt Lazier.
University Police arrested 31-year-old Julianne Perry and 15-year-old activist Zoe Rosenberg on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest. Sherstin Rosenberg was also arrested on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Molly Schrum | Mustang News
At 12 p.m. today, activists Perry and Zoe chained themselves to the corral behind the Meat Processing Center, according to business administration senior James Schulte.
Schulte explained that the protest took place because Zoe, a well-known American animal rights activists and founder of Happy Hen Chicken Rescue, demanded that Cal Poly spare the slaughter of a cow named “Justice.” She asked to bring the cow to her animal sanctuary and chained herself to the corral until University Police and firefighters from Cal Fire were required to remove her from the premise after she was asked to peacefully leave the restricted area several times.
“If you don’t see it, and it ends up on your plate, there are a lot of emotions you don’t experience,” Schulte said.
Protesters were live streaming the event to more than 1,200 people watching on Facebook, which ended at 1:30 p.m. According to Schulte, there were about 20 protesters in total, all of which were either students or members of the community.
This is not the first time Zoe has protested at the Cal Poly Meat Processing Center. Animal science freshman Cassidy Scatena said Zoe interrupted her meat science lab last Thursday in an effort to save a pig who was scheduled to be slaughtered, which can be seen on the live stream on Facebook.
“We do everything for a reason and it’s all for the safety of the workers and of the animal,” Scatena said. “Everything that we do is very humane.”
Lazier said all procedures are done according to the law.
“Cal Poly recognizes its responsibilities to ensure that animals are well cared for, and therefore adheres to all applicable federal, state, local and institutional laws or guidelines governing animal welfare,” Lazier said in a statement to Mustang News.