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A Pleasanton native is facing a felony vandalism charge in Los Angeles County for supergluing his hand to the poultry section of a Trader Joe’s in Pasadena earlier this month as a form of protest against the grocery chain selling chicken from a supplier accused of animal cruelty.
Ani Kandada, an Amador Valley High School alum who now currently resides in San Francisco, told the Pleasanton Weekly in an interview Friday that even though he believes Trader Joe’s is still a good company and is holding out hope it does the right thing by cutting its ties with Petaluma Poultry, which is a division of Perdue Foods, he was still shocked with the charges.
“It’s kind of very disappointing,” Kandada said regarding his arrest.
On July 2, a group of roughly 20 activists associated with the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere occupied the original Trader Joe’s store located at 610 S. Arroyo Pkwy. in Pasadena.
The group held banners and signs while delivering speeches in front of the poultry section of the store and the checkout aisle alleging how Petaluma Poultry — a food manufacturing company based in Petaluma — has systematically abused animals in its factory farms and slaughterhouse.
“We take nonviolent direct action to expose animal cruelty to the public and demand a better world for all,” Cassie King, a communications lead for Direct Action Everywhere Network, told the Weekly. “Animals are suffering horrific neglect and cruelty, including some birds being boiled alive, at Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse.”
The Weekly reached out to the grocery chain for comment but has not heard back as of time of publication.
According to a previous press release April 2, investigators within the animal rights network have documented animal abuse at the poultry farms and slaughterhouse and have found evidence of birds being “scalded alive, birds suffering from infectious diseases that threaten public health, and injured birds who were unable to walk to access food or water”.
“Trader Joe’s is well aware of this and refuses to cut ties with Perdue despite thousands of complaints from customers,” King said.
Perdue responded with a press release April 4 claiming that Direct Action Everywhere’s extreme tactics — which led to Petaluma Poultry taking legal action against another one of the network’s activists for allegedly harassing an associate of the poultry company — have gone too far in the past.
“Petaluma Poultry has long been a leader in free-range and organic poultry, and they’re known for taking great care of their birds,” Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation, said in the prior press release. “The claims being made by DxE simply don’t line up with reality. Their persistent protests at an individual associate’s home are not only disruptive — they’re intentionally misleading and misrepresent the work Petaluma and its employees do every day.”
Kandada, who was one of the activists on July 2, said he has always been pro-animal rights and wanted to meet likeminded individuals and educate others about animal cruelty and the horrible conditions animals can face in certain farms.
He said the July demonstration was his first real protest with Direct Action Everywhere Network and that, for the most part, everything was going smoothly — even after he had superglued his hand to the poultry section.
But what Kandada wasn’t expecting was for the store to call the cops and press for a felony vandalism charge for allegedly damaging the refrigeration casing where the poultry was stored.
“It is absurd that I’m being charged with felony vandalism,” he said in the network’s press release. “The refrigerator is perfectly fine, my hand is fine, but the chickens are not fine. They are still suffering egregious animal cruelty at Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry factory farms and slaughterhouse.”
He said apart from being disappointed with the store’s decision to do that, he thought having him arrested was just another way to suppress the animal rights network’s message.
“I think it’s just a way to silence anyone who speaks or protests against this because they know they are in the wrong here about selling Peteluma Poultry (products),” Kandada said.
In the end, his overall message to Trader Joe’s — apart from asking the company to drop its charge against him — is simple.
“Just please drop Petaluma Poultry,” he said.
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What’s more ridiculous..surprised that he was charged with a felony vandalism or that he super glued his hand to the store’s refrigerator?