010613 PETA Enlists Celebrities to Press Burger King

Chicago - Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it enlisted actors Alec Baldwin and Richard Pryor to push Burger King Corp. to meet standards of animal welfare adopted by fast-food arch-rival McDonald's Corp.

PETA said that Baldwin and Pryor signed a letter on its behalf to more than 10,000 Burger King franchisees asking them to pressure the company to meet or exceed standards for cattle and chickens set last year by McDonald's. The standards include refusing to buy from suppliers that use inhumane practices for slaughter, PETA said.

For its part, Miami-based Burger King contends that it has been unfairly targeted by PETA, which frequently uses shock campaigns portraying graphic pictures of slaughtered animals to hammer home its messages. A Burger King spokesman stressed that the company has made “significant progress” in animal welfare, such as creating an advisory council and ensuring that suppliers meet federal and industry standards for slaughter.

Burger King is not holding discussions with PETA and doesn't plan to in the future, said the spokesman, Rob Doughty. “We take the issue of animal well-being very seriously,” he said.

The celebrity-backed letter to franchisees follows a campaign begun in October against Burger King, which is part of London-based food and beverage conglomerate Diageo Plc. PETA said that Burger King competitor Tricon Global Restaurants Inc., parent of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, pledged to work with the group to improve conditions for animals.

“Regrettably, while Burger King has issued several statements, it has made no improvements whatsoever in the appalling living and dying conditions for the animals it uses,” said the letter, which was signed by both actors.

In September, PETA suspended an 11-month campaign against McDonald's after the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said that it would conduct unannounced audits of its slaughterhouses and stop buying from suppliers that fail to comply with animal welfare mandates.

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