Animal welfare charity Anima has placed a four-metre “frankenchicken” sculpture outside Pret A Manger as it calls for action on fast-growing chickens.
Animal welfare activists have placed a four-metre mechanical chicken sculpture outside Pret A Manger in Oxford Circus as part of a campaign accusing the café chain of failing to meet a chicken welfare pledge.
The stunt, staged by Anima on Monday, featured a car-sized Pret wrap containing a whole “frankenchicken”, with feathers visible from inside the structure. The charity said the protest marked the start of a week-long tour of 15 Pret cafés in London.
Anima said Pret made a commitment in 2018 to stop selling fast-growing chickens by 2026. The charity claims the company has now moved that target to 2032, with no adoption of slower-growing breeds recorded in the UK, US or France.
“Pret’s so-called commitment is simply a cover for its continued inaction,” said Connor Jackson, chief executive of Anima. “Contrary to customers’ expectations, Pret is selling the exact same fast-growing chickens as KFC, Nando’s and Burger King.”
Jackson said Anima had raised the issue with Pret before launching the public campaign. The charity is now calling on customers to take a break from the chain until it begins moving away from fast-growing chickens.
The campaign is expected to include adverts across the London Underground and full-page newspaper ads this week. Anima said related factory farming messages from Project Slingshot will appear in more than 200 Underground stations and 2,200 carriages.
Pret’s 2025 Progress Update, cited by Anima, states that the company aims to reach 50% slower-growing breed adoption by 2031 and 100% by 2032.
Anima is part of Anima International, an animal welfare group active across Europe for more than 25 years.
