ACTION ALERT: Tell McDonald’s To Do Better For Birds

This week, activists pressured McDonald’s at their headquarters in Chicago and across the country, telling the fast food giant to do better by birds. You can take action too.

Chickens raised for food are often bred for cruel rapid growth, becoming so unnaturally large at such a young age that many cannot even support their own weight. These birds suffer from painful medical conditions, and many even collapse and are unable to move around during their short life spans. If a human baby grew this quickly, they would weigh 660 pounds at just two months old.

Kept in extremely crowded and filthy environments lacking opportunity for most natural behaviors, the chickens who survive in these conditions are slaughtered at only 45 days old.

Animal Outlook and a coalition of other groups including Animal Equality, The Humane League and Mercy For Animals say birds deserve better. If fast food competitors like Subway, Burger King and Chipotle have already begun to address these sources of suffering in their welfare standards–why can’t McDonald’s?

While McDonald’s focuses on its fast food profits, it turns a blind eye to unnaturally fast growth that cripples hundreds of millions of birds in its supply chain.

To get the message across, activists have demonstrated across the country. In July, more than 200 activists gathered outside of a Los Angeles McDonald’s, and “The Sopranos” star Edie Falco attended a New York City demonstration in August.

We garnered attention by sending a singing chicken to McDonald’s national headquarters in Chicago, telling the chain: “It’s chickens who pay the price, so stop rapid growth and just be nice.”

The coalition also publicized the anti-cruelty message by taking out a digital billboard in Times Square and advertising an art show to highlight the suffering of millions of birds in the Chicago Reader.

You can take action with us.

Call McDonald’s at 1-800-244-6227 and ask it to catch up with its competitors by issuing meaningful chicken welfare standards to address the most horrific abuses of birds.

Sample Message: “My name is ______ and I’m calling as a consumer concerned about the well-being of the chickens in the McDonald’s supply chain. Chickens on factory farms live their short lives in overcrowded and filthy conditions. Most are unable to exhibit natural behaviors or even walk around because they have been bred for cruel rapid growth. Many restaurants like Subway and Burger King have already addressed this. When will McDonald’s catch up and make meaningful changes to their welfare standards for birds?”

After you call, don’t forget to email campaigns@animaloutlook.org with any response you get from the company. Learn more and take action by visiting TruthAboutMcDonaldsChicken.com.