This has absoultely nothing to do with testing, it has to do with the methods which are used to slaughter thousands of birds a day. PETA is NOT saying "shut down KFC," but rather "boycott them until they comply with humane methods of killing." As much as PETA would love to see a world full of veg'*, they know it'* not going to happen.

Furthermore, they are not just "picking on" KFC. They employed similar campaigns against McDonalds and Burger King, and stopped boycotting/advertising against them once the restaurants adopted humane ways of killing thier animals.

Also, the humane methods of killing are actually cheaper in the long run. Granted, initial start-up cost is high (need to purchase machines), but the long-run cost is less.

Lastly, meat can be an integral part of one'* diet (although one can be perfectly healthy without it, so long as you maintain proper intake of all nutrients and vitamins), but no one who has the smallest amount of concern for their health and well-being should consume KFC, it'* downright AWEFUL for you.

EDIT/EXAMPLE: I just went to KFCs website, and here is the nutrition information for ONE single piece of Original Recipe Chicken (breast): http://www.yum.com/nutrition/results...&BrandAbbr=KFC

Some highlights: 380 calories (the average diet for someone like myself 6'2"/200lbs is around 2000 calories per day)
19 grams of fat! 29% of your daily reccomended intake
6 grams of saturated fat (aka heart attack inducer), 30% of daily intake
145 grams of cholestoral, 48% of your daily intake.
1150 mg of sodium (salt), 48% of your daily intake.
And it is not a significant source of any major nutrients, about the only thing it'* reich in is protein (but obviously this comes at a cost).

EDIT one more time: Here is a "typical" (although I bet most people don't order salad with light dressing, diet pop, and a granola bar) meal, which contains almost 1000 calories, 40 grams of fat, 97% of your daily cholestoral intake, and 115% of your daily sodium intake:
http://www.yum.com/nutrition/results...&BrandAbbr=KFC

Maybe I missed it, but what are these "humane" methods of killing? I'm at a loss for thinking of one that is cheap, efficient, and doesn't damage/change the taste of the meat...

Clearly I am overlooking something obvious.

There is a method which ensures a more humane death, it'* called a "controlled-atmosphere killng system:"

Controlled-atmosphere killing systems using inert gases such as nitrogen and argon, with no more than 20 percent carbon dioxide, significantly improve poultry welfare, meat quality and yield, worker conditions and increase revenue for the producer. The system is expected to pay itself off within 1 to 2 years of installation.

Taken from: http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/...11document.pdf

The other major area of violation is how the birds are treated prior to their death. For example:

In 1997, McDonald’* was found “culpably responsible” for cruelty to animals in a court of law. Here are just three examples, among many, of McDonald’* indifference to animal suffering:

Chickens raised for McDonald’* are crammed into crowded, filthy warehouses with less space per bird than a standard sheet of paper. This overcrowding causes disease, suffocation, and heart attacks.

Some breeding pigs raised for McDonald’* live their entire lives in cement stalls, unable to turn around, lie in a comfortable position, or nuzzle their babies.

And...

Chickens are probably the most abused animals on the face of the planet—they are treated in ways that would warrant felony cruelty-to-animals charges were they dogs, cats, or even cows or pigs. Because federal laws exempt chickens from the Animal Welfare and Humane Slaughter acts, sadistic and routine cruelty go unpunished, and it is up to companies like KFC to ensure that the chickens who end up in their buckets and boxes are not grossly abused. KFC has ignored this responsibility almost entirely, and its suppliers continue to abuse chickens—who are remarkable animals with distinct personalities, social orders, systems of communication, and intelligence as advanced as that of many other animals—in ways that would be illegal if dogs and cats were the victims.

KFC’* breeding birds have their sensitive beaks seared off with hot blades soon after they are born. "Broilers," or chickens raised for their flesh, are bred and drugged in order to make them gain weight quickly, which often causes their hearts and lungs to fail and their legs to become crippled under their own heavy bodies. Archaic slaughter methods and faulty machinery, combined with an absence of laws to protect chickens, cause millions of them to be scalded alive in feather-removal tanks or have their throats slit while they are still conscious.

PETA’* recommended animal welfare program was developed by members of KFC’* own animal welfare board and sent to KFC’* chief operating officer on March 11, 2005. KFC has yet to adopt any of the recommendations. Several members of KFC'* animal welfare panel have resigned, after having been used by the company as a shield for years, during which time none of their (and PETA'*) recommendations were adopted

The following is a basic outline of PETA'* recommended animal welfare program for KFC:

• Adopt the “Animal Care Standards” program. This program creates guidelines to protect chickens on factory farms and covers issues such as ammonia concentration, lighting conditions, and living space in chicken sheds. It also prohibits intentional starvation of breeding birds and states that birds must be provided with mental and physical stimulation.

• Replace electrical stunning and throat-slitting with controlled-atmosphere killing. Experts agree that controlled-atmosphere killing causes much less suffering than KFC’* present method of snapping chickens’ legs into metal shackles and slitting their throats, often while they are still conscious.

• Switch to less cruel mechanized chicken gathering. Studies have shown that using manual methods results in four times as many broken legs, more than eight times as much bruising, and increased stress on the chickens.

• Breed for health rather than forcing rapid growth, and stop feeding drugs to chickens. Breed leaner, healthier, less aggressive birds instead of breeding the biggest, fattest birds possible, and stop feeding chickens antibiotics and other drugs for nontherapeutic purposes.

• Make all welfare standards transparent and verifiable. Any meaningful animal welfare program must be verified by announced and unannounced independent third-party audits, the guidelines for and results of which must be made available to the public through KFC’* Web site.

View the recommendations in their entirety, as they were sent to KFC’* Chief Operating Officer, Harvey Brownlee on March 11, 2005.

well i just found out today from a friend that works at KFC that PETA is going to be doing a protest on the first of every month until KFC "changes there ways." So we started planning now -- So may 1st --- PARTY AT KFC!!!

I think you all are missing the point.

Eating at KFC is completely besides the point trying to be made.

Plus I don't think PETA will change anything honestly.

It all comes down to what is legal what is bending the law to make it still legal. It'* all about the laws and changing them.

Who honestly follows the law down to a T anymore though.
The only humane death would be natural, achieving 100% humane death to me would be a mutual agreement between the human and animal on how to die, and, infact, the animal would then have to agree to be killed, unfortunately for the animal, this has not happend yet.

A quick instant death is the only humane way for an animal IMO.

Stuffing animals in cages together with their extremeties hanging out and breaking their legs so they are easier to handle is not humane. Skinning them alive so the warm blood keeps the coat in better shape is not humane. Smashing them in the head over and over is not humane.

Chopping the head off instantly killing them without them knowing is as close to humane as I can see.

I dont know if that would be so "humane" for a chicken --- ever heard the saying "Running around like a chicken with its head cut off" ?

im thinking that gassing the chickens would probably be "best" like Ryan said.

Yes, that'* also a solution.

And like Sol said, a major component of this is the manner in which the animals are kept prior to being killed. Things like searing off their beaks when they are young is only necessary because the conditions the chickens live in stress them out and encourage them to fight and peck each other. If more humane conditions were present, the cruel practice of removing their beaks would be unecessary. And I don't know about you, but I'm not keen on easting chicken which has been pumped full of steroids (well, I'm not keen on eating any chicken, but specifically one with god-knows-what injected into it).