PETA to Unveil Giant Anti-McDonald's Chicken Statue in Downtown Raleigh

Group Hopes Statue's Debut Will Have Residents Declaring, 'I'm hatin' it'

For Immediate Release:
March 1, 2011

Contact:
Ashley Gonzalez 757-622-7382 

Raleigh, N.C.--On Wednesday, PETA will unveil its controversial head-turning chicken statue in Raleigh, and you can bet that McDonald's execs won't be "lovin' it." That's because the 5 1/2-foot-tall statue—which was designed by renowned New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss—features a "bloody" chicken on crutches and reads, "McCruelty: i'm hatin' it." PETA is "hatin'" the fact that McDonald's refuses to require its suppliers to switch to a less cruel poultry-slaughter method. PETA's chicken statue sparked a great deal of controversy in other U.S. cities before finally making its debut in downtown Raleigh.

Where:   200 Fayetteville St. (in front of the CVS, near the intersection of Fayetteville and W. Hargett streets), Raleigh

When:   Wednesday, March 2, 12 noon

"Every shopper and passerby who sees our chicken statue will be reminded that the Golden Arches stand for cruelty," says PETA campaign manager Lindsay Rajt. "As long as McDonald's buys its chickens from suppliers that cause birds to suffer, everyone in Raleigh should declare, 'I'm hatin' it.'"

Chickens who are raised for McDonald's are killed using an old-fashioned method that causes millions of birds to have their wings broken and many to be scalded to death in defeathering tanks. A less cruel slaughter method—and one that is already used by McDonald's European suppliers—is available, but the company refuses to require its U.S. suppliers to upgrade to it.

For more information, please visit PETA's website McCruelty.com.