The sandwich shop and coffee house chain was the subject of multiple protests this week from animal rights campaigners, who are demanding that the firm follows through on its 2018 pledge to stop using fast-growing ‘frankenchicken’ breeds in its food.
‘Frankenchickens’ is a term applied to farmed chickens that are bred to grow so rapidly that many suffer lameness, broken bones and heart failure during lives that last around six weeks.
As campaign group Animal Equality points out, in 2018 Pret a Manger promised to end its use of these breeds by 2026. However, the café chain has since pushed this deadline back to 2032.
This morning (14 October), Animal Equality protested outside Pret a Manger’s London headquarters to highlight what it says is the company’s lack of progress on the issue.
Animal Equality executive director Abigail Penny said: “Pret made this promise because it knows these chickens suffer excruciating pain. But a broken promise doesn’t help a single bird, and so far we’ve seen nothing to suggest the 2032 deadline is any more real than the 2026 one Pret has already abandoned. If Pret really has a roadmap, it must publish it today. The moment we see a credible plan, this campaign ends. Until then, we’ll keep showing up.”
“For the over one billion birds trapped in filthy factory farms across the UK every year, companies like Pret have the power to reduce their suffering. Using that power is the very least these animals deserve.”
This followed a march yesterday (13 October) from Trafalgar Square to Pret’s headquarters, where hundreds of activists from gathered to deliver what organisers described as “the world’s longest animal petition”, signed by nearly 100,000 people.
“Pret’s customers are being conned by empty promises,” said Connor Jackson, chief executive of Anima.
“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 petition was started by animal advocacy NGO Anima, whose campaign against Pret is reportedly backed by £1 million.
Also targeting Pret is Project Slingshot, which has been running advertisements throughout the London Underground in recent months.
Pret a Manger has ben contacted for comment.
