Organised by The Humane League UK, the protest was held in response to KFC admitting that it would not meet the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) targets it had signed up to.
KFC committed to the BCC in 2019, which requires signatories to swap fast-growing ‘Frankenchickens’ – which can reach slaughter weight in around 35 days – for healthier and slower-growing birds by 2026.
However, speaking at the Egg & Poultry Industry Conference in November of last year, KFC UK and Ireland head of sustainability, Ruth Edge, said that 2026 represented an “unachievable timescale” for the firm. Nonetheless, KFC remains committed to the BCC framework.
More than 380 businesses in the UK and EU have signed the BCC so far, including Greggs, Waitrose, Burger King and Marks & Spencer.
‘Welfare washing’
“KFC has benefited from half a decade of welfare washing,” said Sean Gifford, managing director at The Humane League UK.
“They agreed to give chickens better lives, and now they’re backpedaling. Now we need action, and a concrete roadmap for change. The Frankenchickens you still find chopped up in KFC buckets are birds who grow unnaturally large. They live in their waste, which can burn their skin; they often struggle with lameness and so can hardly walk.
“Breeding them to suffer in this way is the definition of animal cruelty. KFC must act to implement the BCC – millions of chickens deserve so much better.”
In addition to this weekend’s protest, The Humane League UK will organise a nationwide weekend of action against KFC in March.
KFC declined to comment.
Chicken welfare in the UK
The Humane League UK fought a judicial review case against the UK Government in October 2024 over the legality of Frankenchickens, but lost the case. However, the NGO is exploring the possibility of pursuing a private prosecution of chicken producers in the future.
According to Statista data, 1.1 billion chickens are raised and killed for meat in the UK every year. However, very few are reared to BCC standards.
KFC has invested in its animal welfare report in recent years, with the most recent edition revealing that 67.5% of its birds are provided with enrichment and 62.7% have access to daylight.
This number has risen since the launch of its KPI welfare programme in 2020, while it was named top of the ‘Pecking Order’ by World Animal Protection in 2021.
