Posted on 07/07/2003 1:08:36 PM PDT by Calpernia
CHICAGO (Reuters) - An animal rights group filed a lawsuit on Monday against fast-food chain KFC, accusing the company of making misleading statements on its Web site regarding how the chickens it sells are treated.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed the suit in California Superior Court in Los Angeles against KFC and KFC's parent, Yum Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM - News), seeking an injunction to stop what it says are deceptive statements on the KFC Web site.
PETA contends that the chickens KFC buys from suppliers are abused through drugging, feeding and slaughter practices. PETA's director of vegan outreach, Bruce Friedrich, said the treatment is legal, but "they can't legally lie about it, and they have been."
Friedrich said KFC's Web site and other public communications contain untruths about how chickens are treated.
"The claims (on the Web site) are transparently absurd," he said. "We have tried writing letters to explain to them what on their Web site is laughably, obviously wrong, and they've ignored us."
PETA, in the lawsuit, takes issue with a KFC statement on its Web site that its guidelines for the treatment of chickens are designed "to ensure that all birds are handled humanely and suffer no pain."
That statement "is deceptive at best," PETA said in the draft.
Spokespeople for KFC and Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum could not be reached for comment.
In May, KFC announced plans to adopt more humane poultry-handling guidelines, addressing the breeding, hatching and raising of chickens. At the time, PETA said the guidelines did not go far enough to prevent cruelty to the animals.
PETA has previously won changes from other fast food chains, including the largest, McDonald's Corp (NYSE:MCD - News).
Yum shares were up 43 cents at $30.43 Monday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange (News - Websites). (Additional reporting by Lauren Weber.)
i.e, the guy in charge of forcing the rest of America to turn vegan.
In Franklin's tower the four winds sleep
Like four lean hounds the lighthouse keep
Wildflower seed in the sand and wind
May the four winds blow you home again
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