PETA's original McCruelty campaign logo In many of the slaughterhouses of U.S. and Canadian chicken suppliers for McDonald's, birds are dumped out of their transport crates and hung upside down in metal shackles—which can result in broken bones, extreme bruising, and hemorrhaging. Workers often abuse live animals, and eyewitnesses have seen birds' throats cut while they're still conscious and birds immersed in tanks of scalding-hot water while they're still alive and able to feel pain. This cruelty would be illegal if dogs or cats—or even pigs or cows—were the victims.
PETA's McCruelty campaign was launched in 1999 to inform consumers about the rampant abuse of animals in the meat industry and has resulted in hundreds of protests at McDonald's restaurants across the country.
You can help birds suffering right now for McDonald's by going vegan.
- 1997: Following the McLibel verdict, PETA writes to McDonald's asking the company to take steps to alleviate the suffering of animals killed for its restaurants.
- October 1999: PETA launches its McCruelty campaign after two years of failed negotiations with McDonald's.
- September 2000: Following 11 months of campaigning and more than 400 demonstrations against McDonald's, PETA announces a moratorium on its campaign after the company agrees to make some positive changes for farmed animals. This marks the first time in U.S. history that a major seller of meat agrees to make farmed-animal welfare improvements.
- September 2000 to February 2009: PETA tries to work with McDonald's to modernize the company's animal welfare standards and make further improvements, especially regarding how its chickens are slaughtered in the U.S., but McDonald's refuses.
- February 2009: PETA lifts its moratorium against McDonald's after the company fails to require its U.S. and Canadian chicken suppliers to adopt a less cruel slaughter method.
- October 2017: After a two decade–long campaign, McDonald's agrees to implement less-cruel slaughter methods by 2024 for a portion of the birds it kills.
