Berkeley butcher shop displays sign decrying animal slaughter to halt activist group's protests

A sign in the window of The Local Butcher Shop in Berkeley reads: "Attention: Animals' lives are their right. Killing them is violent and unjust, no matter how it's done." The store displayed the sign in exchange for the halting of weekly protests outside the shop organized by animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere. less A sign in the window of The Local Butcher Shop in Berkeley reads: "Attention: Animals' lives are their right. Killing them is violent and unjust, no matter how it's done." The store displayed the sign in ... more Photo: Direct Action Everywhere Photo: Direct Action Everywhere Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Berkeley butcher shop displays sign decrying animal slaughter to halt activist group's protests 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

An animal rights group has agreed to halt its weekly protests at a Berkeley butcher shop in exchange for the shop's display of a sign decrying animal slaughter.

The Local Butcher Shop, a purveyor of "seasonal, locally-sourced, sustainably-raised, fresh meat" at 1600 Shattuck Ave., offers a smattering of butchery classes for the public, ranging from sausage making to stock tastings. Since April, animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere has staged weekly protests outside the storefront during Sunday evening classes in an effort to "denormalize violence towards animals," according to Direct Action Everywhere spokesperson Matt Johnson.

Such protests typically lasted one to two hours, said Johnson, and involved short speeches from activists, call-and-response chants and sometimes singing. After approximately 15 gatherings, Johnson said the owners of The Local Butcher Shop reached out to the group and agreed to post the 15-by-15 inch sign in exchange for Direct Action limiting its curbside protests to once or twice a year.

"Our initial ask was an end to the violence, to sell veggie burgers or something like that," said Johnson, who emphasized that "this is not an agreement we intend to comply with forever" but rather "a temporary understanding." Johnson also called the negotiation "something of a historic first" for animal rights.

The sign, which was taped to the front window of the six-year-old shop this weekend, reads: "Attention: Animals' lives are their right. Killing them is violent and unjust, no matter how it's done."

Robert Weisberg, director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, told SFGATE that while the incident "might well look like extortion" it would only violate federal extortion law "if the protestors were demanding money or some sort of property from the store." Additionally, a possible extortion case would be weakened because the store acquiesced to the demand, rather than report it to police.

Since its 2013 founding in Berkeley, Direct Action Everywhere has undertaken a series of actions throughout the Bay Area, including a "die-in" at a Costco in San Francisco's SoMa district and a takeover of Berkeley's Chez Panisse restaurant last fall. In February, Direct Action Everywhere member Diane Gandee Sorbi was charged with theft, larceny and criminal mischief for removing an injured hen from a San Joaquin farm, according to the district attorney's office.

Local Butcher Shop owner Aaron Rocchio, a trained chef who previously worked at Chez Panisse and Le Bernadin in New York City, declined to comment on the sign, saying he does not "want to give [Direct Action Everywhere] any more attention than they've already gotten."

Read Michelle Robertson’s latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.