Fast food corporation KFC has said it will resist an international campaign by animal welfare activists over alleged cruelty to chickens in its supply chain.
KFC rejects the allegations by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), which has launched a ‘KFC cruelty’ campaign urging its supporters to leaflet and demonstrate at KFC outlets. Protests have already taken place in the US, Europe and Australia.
Peta says it has begun the campaign in frustration at almost two years of talks with the company aimed at eliminating what it calls ‘cruel treatment’ of chickens at KFC’s factory farms and abattoirs.
It says more than 700 million chickens are bred, raised, and killed under ‘deplorable conditions’ for KFC each year – and has focused particularly on the ‘forced rapid growth’ of chickens and ‘insufficient space’ for each bird.
But KFC says there are no problems at its poultry suppliers and that Peta is making unreasonable demands. It also claims Peta is attempting to mislead the public with an ‘outdated and questionable’ video on chicken production. Although Peta claims most of the footage was shot within the last 18 months, KFC says it dates back at least to 1997.
The US-based corporation requires all of its suppliers to follow guidelines developed by scientists who sit on its animal welfare advisory council.
‘Our suppliers receive unannounced audits by outside experts at their poultry facilities throughout the year,’ it said. ‘Failure to comply with our strict guidelines would result in termination of our supplier agreement if remedial action is not taken.’
KFC, which has 11,000 outlets in 80 countries, claims to have taken a ‘leadership role’ with trade associations in an attempt to establish guidelines for the poultry industry and fast food restaurants. It hopes the guidelines will be finalized in the next few weeks.
Peta claims its campaigns against McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s have led to changes in animal welfare practice in the companies’ supply chains. It says KFC, which serves eight million customers a day, ‘would do well to follow their lead’.