More than half a million people call for KFC to end cruelty to chickens

17 October 2018: World Animal Protection has just delivered a petition (CDT 16 October) on – World Food Day – to the fast food giant’s global HQ in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

More than 560,000 people across 10 countries, including around 5,000 New Zealanders, joined the global charity in urging KFC to improve chicken welfare around the world, in order to improve the quality of life for the millions of chickens that they profit from.

The charity wants the company to commit globally to use breeds that are raised at a slower, more natural rate, and to source them from farms that provide more space, light and a stimulating environment.

KFC is yet to make a progressive commitment on chicken welfare and has resisted the call for change. At the same time, companies including McDonalds, Subway and Starbucks have publicly promised in the United States to improve the lives of chickens.

Around the world, 40 billion chickens are raised in factory farms in dire conditions. Momentum behind the movement for better meat-chicken welfare is growing as more and more people realise the horrors that happen behind the closed doors of factory farms.

Jonty Whittleton, Global Campaign Head at World Animal Protection said:

“Chickens are the main ingredient in KFC’s global multi-billion-dollar business, yet they are being deprived of their most basic needs and often subjected to a life of misery and pain.

Forget the slogans, forget the jingles and forget the clever advertising – the reality for chickens served up by KFC is a life of suffering.

“KFC and other fast food restaurants hold the power to transform the lives of billions of animals. They need to put the welfare of the animals they rely on at the heart of their business. A groundswell of consumers agrees with us – enough is enough.

“We will continue to engage with KFC and other companies to see an end to this cruelty. Our supporters are right behind us, every step of the way.”

Around the world, KFC sources chickens from factory farms, which are effectively cramped, barren warehouses, often devoid of natural light. Most chickens are grown unnaturally fast, slaughtered around 40 days, when they are still effectively babies. This approach to farming places huge pressure on chickens’ hearts, lungs and legs, and many chickens, suffer from skin lesions, chronic pain lameness and even heart failure.

To find out more, visit: www.worldanimalprotection.org.nz

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