Written by PETA
"The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club." If, however, the fight club involves forcing mice to battle one another in a stupid and barbaric experiment, you know we're going to talk about it.
Recently, vivisectors at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (sheep abuse ring a bell?) studied the effect of brawling on chemicals in the brain by creating a fighting tournament for mice. In the experiment, pairs of male mice were provoked into fighting while spectators experimenters watched. The "winning" mice didn't actually win: After three consecutive victories, they were killed and their brains were cut up.
Making unwilling participants fight in staged matches? Sounds more like Gladiator than Fight Club to me. Or a laboratory version of dogfighting in which our tax dollars fund the fights and the perpetrators are called "Doctor" instead of Michael Vick.
Forcing rodents to rumble is only the tip of the animal-testing iceberg. Anything goes in U.S. laboratories. Tens of millions of mice are burned, poisoned, cut open, and killed in laboratory experiments each year. There are no federal laws protecting mice (or rats, birds, or cold-blooded animals, for that matter) in laboratories, so these animals are often forced to endure excruciating experiments without being given any pain relief at all.
Mice are smart, sensitive, affectionate animals who feel pain and deserve consideration. To learn more about these exceptional animals, watch our video Who Cares About Mice and Rats?
Let's fight for the rights of mice and take action against cruel animal experiments today!
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
If you participate in demonstrations, you might have experienced a bit of frustration at the occasional rude comments or less-than-perfect weather conditions. Next time that happens, spare a thought for Edward, a PETA Asia campaigner who was arrested as he got out of a cab dressed as a chicken for a Kentucky Fried Cruelty protest in Singapore. Here's Edward preparing for another KFC demo in Malaysia:
Edward, who is originally from Seattle, was essentially placed under house arrest in his hotel room because Singapore has some very harsh and archaic laws against protests. He is expected to be able to leave Singapore as scheduled, without charges. He says that the interrogation was frightening, but that it is nothing compared to how KFC treats chickens. That's our kind of guy.
If you'd like to show solidarity with Edward, why not organize a KFC demonstration yourself?
Written by Jeff Mackey
At PETA, we sometimes embrace things that others might call "bizarre," like Andy Dick's interview as Ronald McDonald with Jiminy Glick.
So when people started ringing our phones wanting our reaction to the recent news that Mike Myers is "kind of obsessed" with painting KFC's Colonel Sanders, we might have puzzled some callers who assumed we'd be alarmed or offended to learn about his muse. We're not. Monet may have had his water lilies but, hey, not all artists are inspired by foliage.
Besides, at the recent premiere of Shrek Forever After, the actor/funnyman/artist told our own Senior Vice President Dan Mathews that after watching a PETA video, he doesn't eat chicken anymore.
That's no surprise, really—after all, like art, many individual's attitudes are ever-evolving—and countless caring people have kicked KFC's unhealthy buckets from their diets.
So we're thankful that one more person has chosen not to support the appalling cruelty that's imposed upon billions of chickens, and we'll daydream that Mike Myers might one day honor us with a gift of one of his renderings of the Colonel. If we paired it with our crippled KFC chicken statue from artist Harry Bliss, we could add immeasurable artistic flair to our Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign.
Just about everyone is badmouthing KFC's vile new Double Down sandwich. (Gee, wonder why?) Guess which celebrity just called it the "double bypass" and said, "I just don't see a need for it, it's like handing people a gun"?
Check out the CNN clip for the answer.
Written by Heather Moore
The work of British guerrilla artist Banksy can't be ignored. Indeed, Time just selected him as one of the year's most influential people.
Now the painting provocateur has cheekily twitted one of PETA's frequent targets: Colonel Sanders, the very face of Kentucky Fried Cruelty.
Sure, art is subjective, but in light of Banksy's earlier works, which seem to side with the animals in circuses and question why we call some animals "pets" and others "food," I'm inclined to believe that he's standing with the chickens who are raised in crowded, filthy conditions to supply KFC's restaurants—and who are sometimes even scalded to death. Or maybe he's just as appalled as we are by KFC's new Double Down.
Either way, I don't know much about art, but I know what I like—and I suspect that KFC doesn't like Banksy's work at all. And that's reason enough to cheer.
We can only hope so—and we mean that in the nicest possible way!
When PETA learned that Springfield, Oregon, comedian Aaron Jamison, who has terminal cancer, is selling ad space on his urns to offset his bills, we were dying to help. Aaron must be a great guy because he took us up on our offer to place this anti-KFC ad on one of the urns:
You don't have to kick the bucket to stick up for abused chickens—just boycott KFC's greasy grub and tell everyone at work and in your neighborhood to do the same. Now's a perfect time, too, because KFC is hoping to make a killing over the next month by selling pink buckets of chicken as a really sick sales gimmick. KFC can't pretend not to see the irony in trying to associate itself with breast cancer research. Let's just say that fried and fatty foods + obesity = increased cancer risk.
And when we found out that dog breeding is one of Aaron's pet peeves, we bought this ad too:
How about you? Want to go out in style?
Written by Paula Moore
Just so you know how low KFC will stoop to make a sale, the company has started selling its cancer-linked chicken in pink buckets to raise money for breast cancer research. This is almost beyond belief, considering that among the secret ingredients in KFC's Kentucky Grilled Chicken are PhIP and other chemicals known as heterocyclic amines, which have been linked to several types of cancer, including breast cancer. And a recent study shows that eating fried chicken significantly increases the odds of bladder cancer.
Now the company is concerned about fighting cancer? I don't think so.
You might think that because many people are going to buy this nonfood anyway, the proceeds may as well go to cancer research, but it turns out that's not even the case. Some small print on KFC's Web site reads, "Customer purchases of KFC buckets during the promotion will not directly increase the total contribution." But were you expecting anything else? Check out KFC's shameful history of cruelty to animals.
It's a slap in the face to cancer survivors too. When I mentioned KFC's new pink buckets to my best friend—a breast cancer survivor who went vegan after having a mastectomy and who now staunchly encourages other women to eat healthy plant-based foods and to support clinical research methods—she shuddered and said, "Oh, my God! Disgusting!"
A longer version of this blog originally appeared on Care2.
As if cutting off chickens' beaks and scalding birds alive weren't dirty enough, KFC has broken some pretty foul food-hygiene rules at one of its busiest branches in the U.K. In 2008, health inspectors found mice, flies, and cockroaches during an inspection of the carry-out restaurant. Originally denying this and other violations (including failure to provide hygienic conditions for hand-washing), KFC finally 'fessed up to the charges in a recent hearing.
From mold- and dirt-covered floors, walls and ceilings in food-preparation areas to trays of bread and raw chicken caked with black grease, this KFC let it all hang out. And did I mention the three KFC employees who were photographed having a hot-tub party in another KFC's sink? That image is almost as sickening as the images in this video, which have prompted hundreds of thousands of people to sign our petition.
Written by Amy Elizabeth
The saturated fat and cholesterol in KFC's Double Down begins clogging arteries and potentially decreasing life expectancies nationwide in just a few days. The sandwich "vilest food product created by man," consists of bacon and cheese sandwiched between two fried chicken breasts, and according to KFC, is only 540 calories—and 32 g of fat, and 1,380 mg of sodium.
With two chicken breasts, cheese, and bacon, the Double Down means quadruple the Kentucky Fried Cruelty for animals, and it could mean quadruple bypasses for consumers since the consumption of animal fats has been linked to heart disease. So as KFC debuts its artery plug on a sans bun, PETA will begin touring the country with our anti-KFC hearse, which will make its first stop in KFC's hometown, Louisville, Kentucky.
Keep your eyes peeled, the hearse could be coming to a Kentucky Fried Cruelty near you!
Written by Logan Scherer
What do you call it when a KFC is "closed for cruelty"? A goreclosure!
For more than a year, dedicated animal advocates have been holding monthly demonstrations outside a KFC in North Carolina to spread the word about KFC's tormented chickens—and watching the restaurant's business dwindle. Now, so many people have washed their hands of KFC's blood that the location has recently shut down!
The only thing better than vegan party food? Knowing that no chicken will ever leave that building in a KFC bucket again. Inspired to instigate a goreclosure in your community? Start organizing your own KFC protest today!
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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