Naturalist Chris Packham 'won't set foot in Pret' after chicken welfare row
The naturalist led a crowd of protestors to one of the chain’s cafes, with a 4-metre “frankenwrap” model in tow.
Naturalist Chris Packham led a crowd of protestors to a Pret A Manger, vowing never to set foot in one of the chain's cafes until it fulfils a chicken welfare promise it made eight years ago.
"I am absolutely furious at Pret for breaking their promise to chickens," says Packham. "Factory farming has broken the chicken. Bred to grow so fast that they can barely walk, scrabbling around in their own waste, broken bones and deformities… The life of a fast-growing chicken is hell. It's a horror story dressed up as a lunch menu. It's absolutely unacceptable."
Pret committed in 2018 to stop using fast-growing ’frankenchicken‘ breeds by 2026, a term used by animal welfare activists to describe breeds of chicken that are genetically selected for their fast-growing traits.
It recently faced criticism from animal activists groups Anima and Project Slingshot for pushing the deadline to 2032, sparking a £1m public campaign that has already gathered 40,000 signatures.
Pret has hit back at the criticism, arguing it remains one of the few businesses still committed to phasing out fast-growing breeds through the Better Chicken Commitment.
Packham dismisses Pret's commitment as empty: "It was bad enough when KFC, Nando’s and Burger King withdrew their commitments to stop selling frankenchickens. But what Pret are doing is equally insidious. They’re pretending to be committed to ending their use of frankenchickens whilst doing nothing about it. I’m not falling for it. When a company is committed to making a change for animals, they don’t wait 14 years to do it."
“That’s why I’m joining the campaign to hold Pret to account. I’m taking a break from Pret, and I won’t be setting foot in their cafes until they produce a real, credible plan to stop selling frankenchickens, just like they promised to do eight years ago.”
Packham is pictured with a bizarre, 4-metre animatronic "frankenwrap", a prop that recently garnered over 10 million social media views after touring Pret cafes in London. This protest is the latest in a series of major actions by activists to target the chain.