PETA Succeeds In Us Lawsuit Against Kfc
For Immediate Release:
2 September 2003
Contact:
Sean Gifford 020 7357 9229, ext 226
London – Handing PETA US a decisive victory in their lawsuit accusing KFC of false claims regarding the treatment of chickens, KFC and its parent company, Yum! Brands, have made sweeping changes to their Web sites and the script given to their customer-service line operators. Lawyers for KFC notified PETA of the changes and provided the text of the new telephone script for PETA to review to see if the concessions were sufficient to stop the lawsuit. Because the changes amount to exactly what PETA has asked the court to require of KFC, the group is announcing an end to its lawsuit today. PETA believe that this kind of victory is unprecedented – in that it is a successful suit for false representations about the treatment of farmed animals – and trust that it puts other corporations on notice that they cannot abuse animals and lie about it with impunity.
The false claims now removed from the KFC and Yum! Brands Web sites include the following:
1) That chickens raised for KFC suffer no pain
2) That chickens raised for KFC suffer no injuries
3) That KFC suppliers use ‘state-of-the-art’ slaughter equipment
4) That humane treatment of the birds is ‘ensured’
5) That KFC prohibits its suppliers from giving chickens growth-promoting substances
6) That KFC has had an animal-welfare policy in place for nearly a decade
The new script given to KFC customer-service line operators in the US prevents them from telling callers, as they had been doing, that PETA’s claims about the treatment of chickens were ‘untrue’; that PETA lost a lawsuit about the way KFC treats chickens; that a mediator ruled against PETA in a dispute between PETA and KFC; that KFC’s animal-welfare panel monitors suppliers for compliance with its guidelines; that KFC has implemented gas killing as a more humane way of killing chickens; that KFC has ‘strict’ guidelines for its suppliers; that chickens raised for KFC suffer no pain or injuries and more. All these statements had previously been made by KFC’s US representatives to callers of the company’s customer-service lines. All are absolutely false.
‘What this case proves is that when it comes to the humane treatment of chickens, KFC can’t be trusted to do the right thing – or even to say the right thing’, says PETA Europe Director of European Campaigns Sean Gifford. ‘We’re pleased that KFC’s dishonesty has been exposed, and we’ll continue our fight to expose and stop the company’s horrific abuse of animals in the UK.’
More detailed information about the lawsuit and KFC’s concessions, as well as PETA Europe’s campaign, can be viewed at KFCCruelty.co.uk.