Hollywood Actress Joins PETA Campaign Against KFC
By Jimmy Moore
Talon News
October 20, 2003

Hollywood actress Pamela Anderson is providing public support to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal's push for an international boycott of the popular fast-food restaurant chain KFC because of their alleged mistreatment of chickens.

PETA contends that KFC, which has 11,000 restaurants in 80 countries and territories around the world, farms 750 million chickens annually in unfit facilities and then maliciously kills the chickens that are sold to the 8 million customers per day served at KFC.

Anderson, who starred on the hit television series "Baywatch," says that people should stop eating at KFC because of the way it treats the chickens it serves to its customers.

"If people knew how KFC treats chickens, they'd never eat another drumstick," she revealed in a letter to KFC posted on the PETA website last Thursday.

The letter was faxed to John Bitove, who is the chairman of Priszm Brandz, which owns the KFC franchises in Canada. The Louisville, Kentucky-based KFC is a division of Yum Brands, which also owns Taco Bell, Long John Silver's, A&W All-American Food, and Pizza Hut.

"What KFC does to 750 million chickens each year is not civilized or acceptable," Anderson wrote. "I am calling for a boycott of all KFC restaurants until my friends at PETA tell me that you have agreed to be kinder in your practices."

Anderson says that her "pals at PETA" told her about these supposed abuses to the chickens, and she chose to take action.

"KFC is torturing birds and then trying to pretend that there is nothing wrong with that," she exclaimed in the letter.

Citing statements made on a suspicious website called KFCCruelty.com, which turns out to be nothing more than a shill for the Norfolk, VA-based liberal animal rights group, Anderson said that KFC must make drastic changes in the way chickens are processed before she will drop her call for a boycott.

"I am asking that you direct KFC suppliers to stop breeding and drugging animals so that they become crippled under their own hefty bulk ... stop scalding birds to death ... and adopt other key improvements that PETA has recommended," she continued in the letter.

Priszm Brandz says the chickens purchased by consumers at KFC are the same ones sold to grocery stores and other restaurants.

"[T]he chicken farmers ... are very responsible and take the welfare of animals very seriously," stated spokeswoman Alessandra Saccal in a press release responding to the letter sent by Anderson.

PETA had previously filed a lawsuit against KFC in July about statements made on its website regarding the welfare of the chickens sold in the restaurants. PETA blames KFC for utilizing chicken suppliers that habitually abuse its chickens through various means.

Anderson joins singer Paul McCartney, hip-hop musician Russell Simmons, and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume in support of PETA's boycott efforts against KFC.

PETA has already paid for numerous billboard and print advertisements expressing their disgust with KFC.

PETA brags on their KFCCruelty.com website that they were successful in previous animal treatment campaigns against other fast-food giants such as McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's.

Now, to help them spread their message about the supposed cruelty to chickens, PETA is selling a T-shirt with the message "Kentucky Fried Cruelty: We Do Chickens Wrong." They are also encouraging people to become vegetarians by offering a free veg starter kit with the image of blood dripping down the side of the website.

For Anderson, this is not the first time she has been outspoken in her support for animal rights.

She has already posed nude in an ad entitled "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur." She recently called for the Las Vegas act of Siegfried & Roy to get rid of the tigers used in their act after Roy Horn nearly died from a recent incident involving one of the cats. Then, last week Anderson posted an unpublished controversial Jane magazine story on her website where she stated that she has "a lot in common with chimps" because they are vegetarians and "spend much of their day grooming."