Springfield, Mass. — Thupten Phelgye, an internationally revered Buddhist monk who holds the prestigious title of Geshe (Top Scholar) and is a close confidant of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, will cram himself into a cage outside the Boston Road KFC on Monday to illustrate the living conditions that chickens who are raised and killed for KFC are forced to endure. Meanwhile, PETA members will hold signs reading, “The Colonel’s Secret Recipe: Live Scalding, Painful Debeaking, Crippled Chickens,” and pass out leaflets:
PETA attempted to work with executives of KFC’s parent company, Yum! Brands, prior to launching its “Kentucky Fried Cruelty” Campaign, but despite assurances made long ago by Senior Vice President Jonathan Blum that KFC would “raise the bar” on animal welfare, the company refuses to eliminate the worst abuses. PETA has had additional high-profile support from hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, actors Pamela Anderson and Richard Pryor, rock icons Sir Paul McCartney and Chrissie Hynde, and civil-rights leader Dick Gregory.
Undercover investigations into KFC suppliers in Germany, India, England, and Australia have turned up exactly the same abuses as were found in the U.S.—crippled chickens living in crowded, filthy conditions.
“Geshe Thupten Phelgye, who has spent his entire adult life advocating compassion, agrees with PETA that KFC stands for cruelty,” says PETA’s Vegan Campaign Director Bruce Friedrich. “If KFC executives treated cats or dogs the way they treat chickens, they could go to prison on felony cruelty-to-animals charges.”
Geshe Thupten Phelgye recently passed a bill in the Tibetan parliament encouraging all Tibetans to adopt a healthy and humane vegetarian diet. Among the many missions that he has undertaken for peace is his 2003 trip to the Middle East as part of an international delegation of spiritual leaders to promote Arab-Israeli reconciliation.
For more information, please visit PETA’s Web site KentuckyFriedCruelty.com.
