I would have ate a chicken leg right in front of that fake chicken..
Finger licking good....
KFC fed up with PETA tactics
By LIBBY KEELING Courier & Press staff writer 464-7450 or [email protected]
November 30, 2004
As PETA's crippled chicken mascot joined a few protesters below, a Kentucky Fried Chicken employee changed the restaurant's marquee to read: "Try our variety pack bucket $9.99."
Monday's hour-long demonstration began at noon outside the restaurant at U.S. 41 and Covert Avenue. The protest was part of a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' 15-city tour encouraging a boycott of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
According to campaign coordinator Ben Goldsmith, the crippled chicken mascot and its accompanying wheelchair illustrate PETA's assertion that chickens raised by KFC suppliers are bred and drugged to grow so large their legs can't support their own weight.
"People are supporting a company that has done nothing to stop some of the worst animal abuses on the factory farm and in the slaughter house," said Goldsmith, who works at PETA headquarters in Norfolk, Va.
A restaurant manager declined to comment on the protest or provide his name shortly after the demonstration ended. A statement from Bonnie Warschauer, KFC spokeswoman, follows:"PETA has disparaged our brand and misrepresented the truth about our responsible industry-leading animal welfare standards. KFC is committed to the humane treatment of chickens. We don't own any poultry facilities and our suppliers are acting responsibly. "We believe enough is enough. We want PETA to know that their corporate terrorist activities won't be tolerated."
PETA bases its allegations on undercover investigations, Goldsmith said. Those investigations, he said, have found chicks raised by KFC suppliers having their beaks sliced off with hot blades so they will not peck themselves or others in cramped conditions. In slaughter houses, Goldsmith said chickens are scalded alive because of inadequate stunning and slaughter techniques.
Jamie and Brandon Taylor, sociology majors at the University of Southern Indiana, are members of PETA who participated in Monday's protest.
"I think Evansville needs to open their eyes to the abuse farm animals suffer and particularly to the way KFC treats their chickens," Jamie Taylor said. "I'm just very against factory farming in general. KFC is really bad."
The boycott campaign began about a year and a half ago, Goldsmith said, more than a year after PETA began working with KFC to encourage change.
"This is a last resort," he said. "These types of abuses are routine and because KFC refuses to demand higher standards of animal welfare from their suppliers, these abuses continue."
The campaign's next stops will be in Kentucky, and Goldsmith said the boycott is having an impact.
"KFC sales have been down since this campaign launched. In fact, it's the only Yum Brands company whose sales are falling," he said.
Yum Brands Inc. operates KFC as well as Taco Bell, Long John Silver's, Pizza Hut and A&W All-American Food Restaurants.
According to The Associated Press, U.S. same-store sales increased 2 percent at KFC in the third quarter, ending a period of declines in 2003 and the first half of 2004.
