Written by PETA
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. —Martin Luther King Jr.
Countless prominent African Americans throughout history have used their influence to stand up for animals, and this month we celebrate their inspiring efforts. Civil rights leader Coretta Scott King extended her kindness toward humans to animals by going vegan. The late comedian Richard Pryor, who won our Humanitarian Award in 1999, tirelessly urged KFC and McDonald's to treat chickens humanely and spoke out on behalf of the elephants abused by Ringling and other circuses.
Today, fur-free First Lady Michelle Obama and awareness-raising media mogul (not to mention PETA's 2008 Person of the Year) Oprah Winfrey continue the historic trend of African Americans defending animals. Author and social thinker Cornel West, record producer Russell Simmons, and community leader Rev. Al Sharpton are among the many who have ensured that Richard Pryor's legacy lives on by asking KFC to stop abusing chickens. And many more—including Tyra Banks, Tony and October Gonzalez, John Salley, Nia Long, Gilbert Arenas and Amar'e Stoudamaire—have worked with PETA in campaigns to stop the exploitation of animals. Join us this month in honoring these generous and compassionate black men and women.
Written by Logan Scherer
Ladies—if KFC's cruelty to chickens hasn't convinced you to (as the company suggests) "UnThink the Wing," this wing-induced woe for women might wipe away any cravings for the Colonel's unhealthy offerings.
ScienceDaily.com reports that researchers have found a link between the consumption of E. coli-contaminated chicken flesh, which is available in abundance at supermarkets and restaurants such as KFC, and urinary tract infections (UTI).
For anyone who has ever suffered from an awful UTI, KFC's Web site currently features a chilling reminder of the burning pain (be sure to turn up your computer's volume before visiting the site): Flames light up the screen while a woman sings screeches, "Fire … Fire … Fire."
Could it be that a woman who has to go feels that way because she already went to KFC?
Written by Karin Bennett
Road trips remind me of a better decade, when poodle skirts and pompadours were in fashion. So when I'm on the open road, Elvis croons from my stereo and the iconic Sonic drive-thru diner is a must on the list of pit stops.
And now I have another reason to cruise on up to Sonic besides its seriously addictive limeade. The company just agreed to begin purchasing eggs and to double the amount of meat it purchases from suppliers that use less cruel production methods. Under its new animal welfare policy, Sonic will take the following actions:
With the new policy, Sonic adds its voice to those calling for less cruel slaughter methods that will prevent thousands of chickens from suffering broken bones and dying in scalding-hot defeathering tanks—and it will mean more humane living conditions for sows. The company has set an example that we hope other chains will follow. Of course, our offers to meet with execs from McDonald's and KFC still stand.
Let me count the ways … in which PETA's proposed chicken-feces sculpture of Colonel Sanders would be a perfect centerpiece for downtown Corbin, Kentucky, where Sanders set up mass-murder shop in the 50s.
The city of Corbin has plans to erect a bronze statue of Colonel Sanders, but before the city memorializes the Colonel, we want to remind everyone of the filth and suffering that the millions of chickens killed for KFC are forced to endure. Could you think of a more appropriate way to honor Sanders' legacy of cruelty, obesity, and possible racial insensitivity than with the same thing KFC's full of?
KFC has just started test-marketing a new "sandwich" that is sure to have customers beating down its doors (sarcasm alert).
I'm going to ignore for now that countless pigs, cows, and chickens will suffer for this sucker (and I'm betting that the "secret" in the sauce is crushed ducklings).
Instead, I'm going to bring to your attention its nutritional value—or lack thereof. While KFC won't release the Double Down's fat and calorie stats, there's plenty of speculation. The Vancouver Sun's educated "guess-timate" is that "this one menu item can be estimated to supply more than the daily recommended allowance in fat (124%), saturated fat (117%), cholesterol (105%), sodium (125%) and protein (194%), as well as 61% of your daily recommended calorie intake" and "compares closely to the fat, salt and calorie totals of three McDonalds Big Macs put together …."
In other words, eating a Double Down makes Russian Roulette look like child's play.
What happened to KFC being the "better-for-you option for health-conscious customers"? Its carcinogenic grilled chicken wasn't much better, but this oozing pile of grease just screams, "We're out to kill you." Keep up the genius marketing, KFC. You're doing our job for us.
Less than a month ago, we sent requests asking permission from the Louisville Department of Public Works to place our crippled-chicken statue, which was designed by renowned cartoonist Harry Bliss, on public property.
I should clarify—we submitted six separate applications, asking for our statue to be placed at six different locations, to nix any issue of public versus private property. We were pretty confident that we'd covered all the bases.
We've finally received a response. Apparently, Louisville has placed a 45-day moratorium on issuance of the very type of permit we requested.
Coinkydink? Methinks not. I suspect that Louisville officials and KFC don't want any attention drawn to the horrible abuse that millions of chickens suffer at the hands of KFC's suppliers.
Click here to read our response.
What do you get when you combine our favorite hockey player with one of our favorite faux-chicken sandwiches?
Hat trick! Georges Laraque was so impressed by a Canadian KFC's vegan sandwich, he ordered two more to go.
While there is one major animal offense that keeps Canada in the penalty box, KFCs in Canada offer an awesome vegan sandwich—and they are also making efforts to phase in controlled-atmosphere killing. Partner that with Georges Laraque's insatiable hunger for animal liberation and I'd say you have one of the sweetest assists Canada's seen in some time.
Written by Shawna Flavell
When I lived in the Louisville area, there were several things I thought the city could've used—like more vegan restaurants or a more extensive public transportation system. But you know what Louisville—home to the headquarters of KFC—really needs? The city is sorely in need of our chicken statue, designed by award-winning children's book author and cartoonist for The New Yorker Harry Bliss.
We're asking Louisville's Department of Public Works to allow us to install the statue in downtown Louisville for three months, starting July 15. We hope that it will draw attention to the millions of chickens who are killed each year for KFC—chickens who live out their short lives in ammonia-ridden sheds locked in cages in which there's not even room to take a single step in any direction. At the slaughterhouse, their throats are cut while they are still conscious, and they are often scalded alive.
We submitted our permit request this morning—hopefully Louisville's downtown area will have an artsy new addition in just a couple of weeks!
Written by Amanda Schinke
You may have heard that hideous fast-food bird abuser KFC is currently doing its darnedest to promote itself as an icon of healthy eating. ROTFL!!
It's started grilling dead birds, as opposed to frying them, and so it's encouraging people to "unthink what you thought about KFC."
I can only assume that it's referring to our thoughts about how unhealthy KFC is—which, admittedly, is one of the things I think about KFC. Of course, I mostly think about its awful animal welfare record, which it doesn't appear to be asking us to "unthink." (Possibly because, well, it's still awful.)
Give me a break, KFC. You can put a shiny "Healthy!" sticker on it all you want, but cholesterol-filled, artery-clogging flesh is still unhealthy, whether you fry it or grill it—and grilled chicken has been shown to contain carcinogens. I think I'll pass on the three-piece breast and thigh meal with an increased cancer risk on the side. Thanks anyway.
I can think of a better response to KFC's new grilled chicken—how about we grill KFC? Click here to write to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and ask it to investigate KFC's false animal welfare claims.
People have lost one of the greatest comic actresses of all time, and animals have lost one of their all-time greatest defenders. An honorary PETA director and the winner of multiple PETA Humanitarian Awards, Bea Arthur joined PETA in 1987, when the Golden Girls did an anti-fur episode and Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Betty White filmed a PETA anti-fur PSA on the set of the show.
A tireless advocate for animals, Bea campaigned against the force-feeding of ducks in the foie gras trade, travelling to London with PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk, where she called on Harrod's to stop selling the cruelly made pâté. She was particularly upset about fur and used to place ads in playbills calling for theater patrons to have a change of heart and donate their furs to PETA. Bea recently called for a boycott of KFC until it improves the way it raises and kills its chickens, campaigned against animal experimentation, spoke out about the abuse of animals on factory farms, and was a vocal opponent of the use of exotic animals in circuses. She also helped launch and was a member of PETA’s Augustus Club, which helps members remember PETA in their estate plans and wills.
She will be sorely missed.
Written by Dan Mathews
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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