030638 Indian Animal Rights Groups Demand Closure of KFCJune 27, 2003Bangalore, India - Animal rights activists protested outside the only Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in India demanding it be closed down and accusing the firm of cruelty. About a dozen activists carrying placards which read "KFC get the 'cluck' out of India" Friday gathered outside the outlet in the southern city of Bangalore. "More than 700 million chickens at KFC suppliers' factory farms (around the world) lead miserable lives and suffer terrifying deaths," said Dilpreet Beasley, campaigns coordinator of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in India. "Nobody anywhere in the world kills such a large number of chickens as KFC," Beasley said. "This (restaurant) has to be shut down. There is no alternative," she said. In 1995 when KFC opened in Bangalore, it was hit by protests from farmers' groups who were against increasing globalisation. In the same year the company was accused by non-governmental organisations of serving chicken with high levels of monosodium glutamate and was forced to close its New Delhi outlet. KFC said it was committed to humane treatment of chickens. "Every day about 2,000 to 2,500 customers walk in to our resturant. The figures are growing by about 18 percent every year. We will continue to service these customers," said Pankaj Batra, director of Indian marketing operations.
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