Photos: Giant Battered ‘Chicken’ Comes Home to Roost at Popeyes Opening, Courtesy of PETA 

Photos: Giant Battered ‘Chicken’ Comes Home to Roost at Popeyes Opening, Courtesy of PETA

Edinburgh – Today, Popeyes patrons’ eyes were popping during the chain’s opening in Edinburgh, when a bruised and bandaged PETA “chicken” hobbled up on crutches serving would-be diners a reminder of the suffering behind every deep-fried chicken sandwich. Bearing a sign reading “Don’t Batter Me! Go Vegan” the feathered mascot urged passersby to leave birds in peace – not pieces – by going vegan.

Photos and footage are also available here and here.

“Every chicken is an individual who feels love, joy, pain, and fear, and they don’t want to die for a Popeyes takeaway any more than we would,” says PETA Senior Campaigns Manager Kate Werner. “PETA urges everyone to give birds a break by leaving them off their plates and stands ready to help with free vegan starter kits.”

Chickens can distinguish between more than 100 faces of their own species, have full-color vision, and experience rapid eye movement sleep, which means they dream just like we do. Yet chickens killed for their flesh are crammed into severely crowded, filthy sheds and bred to grow such unnaturally large upper bodies that their legs often become crippled under the weight. At abattoirs, chickens’ throats are often cut 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” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.

Contact:

Lucy Watson +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]

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