An animal rights organisation are touring a ‘frankenchicken’ wrap around London to protest Pret A Manger not fulfilling its commitment to stop using fast growing breeds by 2026.
Anima International – previously known as Open Cages – have placed the enormous chicken carcass outside of 15 London locations across the week – including the Kings Road branch on Wednesday.
Anima founder Connor Jackson said that after the group briefed Pret earlier this year on their planned £1 million campaign, the sandwich shop chain committed to stop using fast growing breeds by 2032.
“The problem is that there is no step until 2031 – so to us this doesn’t look like a company that’s really committed to improving chicken welfare,” Jackson said.
“This looks like a company that are kicking the can down the road to look like they care about animal welfare when in fact they’re still selling the same fast growing chickens.”
As of the end of August 2025, Waitrose source all its chicken from British farms that raise a slower-growing breed – meaning all its chicken now meets Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) standards.
A Pret spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that this campaign group has chosen to target one of the few businesses that remains signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment. We already meet 5 out of the 6 of those standards and have set a clear roadmap for the remaining one.
“It is unclear to us why activists are spending such significant funds targeting a business trying to do the right thing rather than focusing on those who have abandoned higher welfare reform entirely.”
In February 2026, eight major restaurant groups – including the owners of Burger King and Nandos – left the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), in which they pledged to stop using fast-growing chickens.
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Featured image credit: Carmel Hobbs
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