Customer fury as Pret refuses to reverse ‘frankenchicken’ broken pledge despite social media storm
Customers of sandwich giant Pret A Manger are boycotting stores over broken promises on chicken welfare.
The company is still facing social media attack for using “frankenchickens” (birds that grow so quickly after hatching that they suffer from chronic pain, deformities and heart failure before they are fully grown).
It has been calculated that if human babies grew as fast as hot dog chickens, they would weigh around 45 stone by the time they were two months old.
Eight years ago, Pret promised to stop using the fast-growing breed of chicken in its salads and sandwiches by 2026.
But earlier this year bosses of the popular High Street restaurant postponed their pledge to phase out sausage chicken until 2032.
Animal welfare campaigners, who accused the chain of reneging on its promise, have launched a £1 million public campaign against the 14-year delay, which they described as “unacceptable”. They are also angry that Pret has refused to respond to backlash on social media.
Users have left more than 2,200 comments on the chain’s accounts (mostly by customers boycotting stores) but bosses don’t appear to have responded to any of them.
They responded to comments on other topics.
“I think understandably this silence has amplified people’s anxiety and anger,” said Connor Jackson, president of the animal rights organization Anima.
Pret said it remained committed to the Better Chicken Commitment, stating that it had already met five of the six standards in the pledge and had “set out a clear roadmap for the remainder”. This uses slower growing breeds.
The Better Chicken Commitment is designed to alleviate poultry’s biggest pain points with criteria such as more space and light for birds. But in an audit by Compassion in World Farming, the company received a zero score for breed welfare.
Many other restaurants and fast-food chains still use sausages and have made no commitments to end their use, but Pret is being targeted for delaying its target.
Fast-growing broiler chickens, chosen to cut costs with relatively little concern for their health, are the most serious animal welfare problem in the UK, the RSPCA says.
Around 1.1 billion frankenchens are raised for slaughter in the UK each year.
Animal oppression organization Project Slingshot, which highlights the cruelty of factory farming, is joining forces with Anima on the Pret chicken campaign.
Project Slingshot, backed by comedians including Sara Pascoe, Diane Morgan and Kerry Godliman, used billboards on the London Underground to publicize the woes that most chickens in the UK are raised for meat; This includes being forced to sit in their own waste, which burns their skin.
Music superstar Paul McCartney and actor Dame Joanna Lumley also support Project Slingshot. Dame Joanna said: “Ninety per cent of chickens full of antibiotics grow so fast their bodies collapse, their legs buckle and their hearts fail. They only live 35 days, mostly in pain, but still the industry calls it efficiency. We should ban Franken hens now because we’re better than that.”
Growth rates for broiler chickens in the UK have increased by more than 400 per cent since the 1950s due to the way they are raised.
Alongside the social media storm, nearly 74,000 people have also signed a pledge to stop supporting Pret or reduce visits.
Broadcaster and naturalist Chris Packham said: “If a company is determined to make a change for animals, it won’t wait 14 years to do it.”
Activists had previously left a mock-up of a car-sized sausage chicken wrapped in cling film outside Pret stores.
On the company’s 40th anniversary Wednesday, activists took a giant “birthday card” to its first store, where supporters wrote messages saying they said it was a cruel policy.
Mr Jackson said: “Customers have rightly been shocked that Pret appears to be abandoning their responsibilities towards animal welfare. And now they appear to be ignoring customers.”
In February, eight food brands including Nando’s, KFC, Wagamama and Burger King withdrew from the Better Chicken Commitment to form an initiative called the Sustainable Chicken Forum, which does not require a change of breed.
A Pret spokesman said: “We are disappointed that this campaign group has chosen to target one of the few remaining businesses registered with the Better Chicken Commitment. “We already meet five out of six of these standards and have set out a clear roadmap for the rest.
“It is not clear to us why activists are spending such significant funds targeting a business trying to do the right thing, rather than focusing on those abandoning welfare reform altogether.
“While we respect the right to peaceful protest and the important issues this campaign aims to raise, our priority is the well-being of our team members and customers.
“We have plans to support them and hope the demonstrations are held safely and in a way that is respectful of the people who work in and visit our stores every day.”
They did not specifically address criticisms about not keeping the 2026 promise or not responding to social media comments.
