PHOTOS: Chicken Defenders Crash Raising Cane’s Nashville Grand Opening

For Immediate Release:
September 21, 2026

Contact:
Hannah Nelson 202-483-7382

As would-be customers gathered for the grand opening of Raising Cane’s newest Nashville restaurant today, PETA supporters delivered a shocking sight: a woman hanging upside down as a mock slaughterhouse worker appeared to slit her throat, demonstrating the way chickens are killed for “chicken fingers.” Photos and video are available here.

“Behind every ‘chicken finger’ was a gentle bird who was crammed into a filthy shed with tens of thousands of others, engineered to grow so heavy that their bones can crack, and was terrified as their throat was cut,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is urging everyone to leave chickens in peace, not in pieces, and to please go vegan.”

Chickens are social learners who learn by watching one another; they form strong bonds, dream when they sleep, and worry about the future, just as humans do—but in the meat industry, they are bred to grow such unnaturally large upper bodies for extra breast meat that their legs often become crippled under their unnatural weight. At slaughterhouses, mechanized blades slit their throats—often while they’re still conscious—and many are scalded to death in de-feathering tanks.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a chicken is a dog is a boy. PETA offers a free vegan starter kit for anyone thinking of making the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.