SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California animal rights activist who took four chickens from a major Perdue Farms poultry plant was found guilty Wednesday of trespassing and other charges, which could carry a sentence of up to five years.

Zoe Rosenberg, 23, did not deny taking the animals but argued she wasn't breaking the law because she was rescuing the birds from a cruel situation during the nearly seven-week trial in Sonoma County, an agricultural area of Northern California.

The Santa Rosa jury took less than a day to find Rosenberg guilty on all counts. The activist with Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, a Berkeley-based animal rights group, was on trial for two misdemeanor counts of trespassing, a misdemeanor count of tampering with a vehicle and a felony conspiracy charge.

Rosenberg sai

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