PETA Responds

To the Editor:

David Foxley’s article about HBO’s documentary I Am an Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA [“The Little Lady Who Fears Nobody—Not Even Karl Lagerfeld!” posted to observer.com on Nov. 19] was insightful, but I need to point out one inaccuracy: KFC has not, unfortunately, overhauled its cruel practices.

The 850 million chickens that are raised and killed for KFC each year are crammed into dark, waste-filled sheds, and workers often break the birds’ wings and legs when they throw them into transport crates.

At the slaughterhouse, the frantic birds are shackled and hung upside down and have their throats slit. Many are dumped into scalding-hot water while they’re still conscious.

PETA will continue campaigning against KFC until the company implements the scientific advice of its own former animal welfare advisers and stops the worst abuses of these animals.

Lindsay Rajt
Assistant Manager, Factory Farming Campaigns
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Norfolk, Virg.