Animal rights groups have ramped up protests against Pret a Manger’s continued use of so-called Frankenchickens this week.
The world’s longest animal welfare petition was marched through central London yesterday, measuring 400m and containing more than 100,000 signatures.
The march, organised by campaigners Anima, ended at Pret’s head office and was led by NHS GP and TV doctor Amir Khan.
Khan said he was joining the march because “food companies can’t continue to sell chickens that have been selectively bred to grow so fast that their legs buckle under their own weight; birds that sit in their own ammonia-ridden waste, and that are unable to behave naturally”.
“Pret’s customers are being conned by empty promises,” said Anima CEO Connor Jackson. “Every day people eat at Pret with expectations of high animal welfare, and yet behind their polished marketing, Frankenchickens are collapsing in their own waste from leg disorders and heart failure.”
The march coincided with the publishing of an open letter to Pret CEO Pano Christou signed by animal protection organisations including Humane World for Animals, Four Paws UK, Animal Equality UK and The Humane League UK.
“More than 100,000 people and nine animal charities have sent a clear message that we want faster and firmer progress on chicken welfare at Pret,” said Claire Bass, senior director of campaigns and public affairs at Humane World for Animals. “While Pret has made commitments, the company is waiting too long to turn them into action.”
The chain had committed in 2018 to stop selling fast-growing ‘Frankenchickens’ by 2026 but extended the deadline to 2032 earlier this year.
There was an additional protest outside the brand’s head office today led by Animal Equality, which has kicked off a campaign calling on Pret to publish a detailed plan for removing fast-growing chicken breeds from its sandwiches, wraps and salads.
The campaign group said no one from the business came down to speak to campaigners, but members of staff including one dressed in a chicken outfit, waved at campaigners from the office windows.
“We came to Pret’s door to speak up for millions of birds suffering in its supply chain, and the only response we saw was someone in a chicken costume gleefully waving at us from a first-floor window, endorsing the very sandwiches we’re concerned about,” said Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality UK.
She said Christou had ignored the group’s requests to meet and added the behaviour of staff “speaks volumes about how seriously this company is taking this issue”.
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