Animal Activist Wayne Hsiung Found Guilty of Felony Charges
A Transylvania County jury found animal activist Wayne Hsiung, who was arrested in 2018 for allegedly stealing a goat from a Pisgah Forest ranch, guilty on Dec. 6 of felony larceny after a breaking and entering and felony breaking and entering.
Hsiung was sentenced to a six-to-17-month suspended sentence with 24 months of supervised probation, the Transylvania Times reports. He was ordered to pay $250 in restitution for the value of the stolen animal.
Hsiung is one of the founders of the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), an organization known for their headline-grabbing style of disruptive protest, which now has chapters and supporters all over the world. He is based out of Berkley, Calif.
During his trial in the Transylvania County Superior Court, prosecutors played the Facebook livestream video of Hsiung and three other animal rights activists breaking into Sospiro Ranch in Pisgah Forest and stealing a newborn baby goat.
Hsiung claimed he went to the farm with the “intent to save a life” during his testimony, the article said.
This marks the first time Hsuing has received a felony conviction for his animal rights activism, despite being arrested several times along with fellow DxE activists.
Activists Employ Open Rescue Strategies
Groups like DxE rely on strategies such as “open rescue,” where they film and/or livestream themselves entering farms or plants to steal (or “rescue” as they claim) livestock and poultry, explains Hannah Thompson-Weeman of the Animal Agriculture Alliance.
“DXE says its ‘open rescues’ are ‘seen by millions’ and ‘force the issue of animal rights into the public consciousness,’” Thompson-Weeman shared.
This case was the first time Hsiung and DxE ever attempted an open rescue, the Transylvania Times reports. Hsiung, a licensed lawyer in the state of California, represented himself in this case.
During opening statements, Superior Court Judge Peter Knight sustained so many of prosecutors’ Robert Bracket and Jason Hayes’ objections, Hsiung couldn’t finish his opening statements to the jury, the Transylvania Times reports.
Hsiung shared his animal activism beliefs when he took the stand as his first witness. One of his core arguments is that he believes Americans are entitled to the “right to rescue” animals facing cruelty, neglect, poor living conditions or untreated medical emergencies, and that he believes what he did was not only legal, but the moral thing to do, the article said.
The prosecution argued that this was a case of trespassing, breaking and entering and larceny, and that Hsiung had no prior knowledge of this specific goat’s existence before trespassing on the night of Feb. 11, 2018.
Time to Face Consequences
The Animal Agriculture Alliance has been following the trials of DxE members in California, North Carolina and Iowa (to begin soon) as they face the legal consequences of their actions over the past several years.
“Trespassing onto farms and stealing animals is not only unlawful, but it also threatens the health and safety of livestock and poultry. Farmers and ranchers should be able to do their important work to bring meat, poultry, dairy and eggs to the vast majority of consumers who choose to eat them without fear of intrusion by animal rights extremists who believe we should not be raising animals for food (regardless of how we do it) and want to take choices off of everyone's plates,” Thompson-Weeman says.
She believes it is reassuring that the jury in North Carolina quickly decided on a guilty verdict in this case and she hopes to see similar outcomes in the other trials.
“While it is unlikely that this conviction or any others will deter the most dedicated extremists, perhaps others will think twice before engaging in what DXE calls "open rescue" activities,” she says.
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