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A widely watched case pitting animal welfare advocates against a Fortune 500 company has come to a conclusion and the results could have far-reaching implications in how the courts view the concept of \\u201ctheft\\u201d versus \\u201crescue.\\u201d

In 2017, two members of an animal rights group called Direct Action Everywhere (or, DxE) were investigating conditions for pigs being raised for slaughter at Circle Four Farms, a Utah-based factory farm owned by Smithfield Foods.

While on site, the two men \\u2013 Wayne Hsiung\\xa0 and Paul Picklesimer\\xa0 \\u2013 reportedly discovered two newborn piglets they determined to be sick and dangerously underweight. They then removed the piglets, took them for veterinary care, and transferred them to an animal sanctuary.

When the incident was discovered, the two men were charged with felony burglary and theft and were facing up to five and half years in prison pending the results of their trial.

In what\\u2019s being viewed as a huge victory for opponents of animal cruelty, a jury has unanimously agreed that the two men be acquitted for their actions, with legal experts suggesting this could lay the groundwork for a legal \\u201cright to rescue\\u201d \\u2013 establishing a difference between what took place and what would be considered theft.

The pig rescue operation reportedly occurred during an attempt by DxE to verify whether Smithfield had ceased to use highly-criticized \\u201cgestation crates\\u201d that were too small for pregnant pigs to turn around in. They contend they did find these, despite Smithfield pledging to no longer use them at Circle Four. Throughout the course of this, the men from DxE say they also found dead and sick piglets, including the two in question \\u2013 who they named Lilly and Lizzie.

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