Environment & Pollution
KFC Demonstration
By Jenny Garcia
Mar 10, 2004, 12:39

The Houston Animal Rights Team demonstrated at the Kentucky Fried Chicken on Woodridge across from Gulfgate Mall Saturday demanding that KFC up the standards of welfare for the seven hundred and thirty-six million chickens killed each year for the fast food chain.

HART featured signs from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals at the demonstration renaming KFC as “Kentucky Fried Cruelty” and “Killing Friendly Chickens.” HART says that chickens killed for KFC are fed until they can no longer walk, have their beaks cut off without anesthesia, are crammed into transport trucks without enough room and are scalded to death to remove their feathers.

HART director Alma Williams was passing out information about the cruelty. Williams says she hopes that all people will eventually adopt a vegetarian diet. Williams says that boycotting KFC is a small, yet significant first step to bettering the treatment of chickens.

Ken Voight, the KFC store manager, said the demonstrations don’t affect his business. He said that he gets his chicken from the same place grocery stores do.

The fast food chain, which serves about 8 million customers every day, says that it is a leader in establishing standardized guidelines for the entire poultry industry.

Terrie Dort, president of the national council of chain restaurants, said in a press release that KFC has been instrumental in helping initiate and lead the process to develop comprehensive, industry-wide guidelines for farm animals.

With 11,000 outlets in more than 80 countries and territories around the world, Williams says that KFC will continue to be targeted until PETA guidelines have been enforced and chicken treatment improves.

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