• Chicago Tribune, Tuesday, February 17, 2009 11:15 AM

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is taking on McDonald's for the way its suppliers kill chickens. The conventional way to slaughter chickens in the U.S. is to knock them unconscious with a jolt of electricity and then cut their throats, Mike Hughlett reports. PETA says it's more humane to gas the chickens, as is done to some extent in Europe.

The campaign got underway Monday at McDonald's River North, Ill., restaurant. The protest featured Chrissie Hynde, of Pretenders fame, and about 20 other members of the advocacy group. They urged a boycott of McDonald's, reports Stefano Esposito in the Chicago Sun-Times, which responded that it "requires our food suppliers to do the right thing -- for animals, for humans and for the environment.

PETA has been boycotting Kentucky Fried Chicken since 2003 with a "Kentucky Fried Cruelty" campaign, using shock tactics like dousing company executives in fake blood. KFC has refused to give in. "When PETA protests our restaurants, we have to add additional staff because sales actually increase while they're there," the company tells the Tribune. But KFC franchisees in Canada agreed last year to begin buying chickens from suppliers that use the gas slaughter method.

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