London, UK – June 18, 2024 – The popular sandwich chain Pret A Manger is under intense scrutiny as the animal rights organization Anima launches a significant £1 million "Public Accountability Campaign." The campaign targets Pret’s alleged failure to uphold its commitment to cease selling "Frankenchickens" by 2026, a promise made nearly a decade ago. The aggressive multi-channel campaign, featuring prominent advertising across London, aims to hold the company accountable for what Anima describes as a "broken promise" and an "empty commitment."

The term "Frankenchicken" refers to fast-growing broiler chicken breeds genetically engineered to reach slaughter weight at an unprecedented speed, often within six weeks. This rapid growth, while economically advantageous for producers, is associated with severe welfare issues for the birds. These include debilitating health problems, skeletal strain, immobility, and chronic pain, as their bodies struggle to keep pace with their accelerated development.

Anima’s campaign, unveiled today in the heart of London, is a stark display of public pressure. Advertisements are strategically placed in newspapers, on the ubiquitous London Underground network, on street corners, and via a fleet of mobile billboards, ensuring maximum visibility and impact. The organization’s message is unequivocal: Pret A Manger has failed its animal welfare obligations.

The Better Chicken Commitment: A Foundation of Trust Undermined

The crux of Anima’s grievance lies in Pret A Manger’s 2018 pledge to adopt the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC). The BCC is a comprehensive set of welfare standards designed to address the most pressing issues faced by broiler chickens in industrial farming systems. Key tenets of the commitment include transitioning to slower-growing breeds, ensuring better living conditions, reducing stocking densities, and implementing more humane slaughter practices. The adoption of slower-growing breeds, in particular, is widely recognized as the single most impactful measure for improving the welfare of these birds.

However, a critical examination of Pret’s own progress report, its "2025 BCC update," reveals a deeply concerning lack of tangible advancement. The report, made public by the company, explicitly states that Pret has achieved "zero progress" in the adoption of slow-growing breeds across its operations in the UK, the US, and France. Instead of meeting its 2026 deadline, Pret’s revised timeline now projects a mere 50 percent adoption by 2031 and full 100 percent adoption by 2032 – a significant delay that Anima argues renders the original commitment meaningless.

"Pret Has No Intention of Honouring Its Commitment": Anima’s Stark Accusation

The extent of Pret’s inaction is amplified by the fact that its current plan, according to Anima, features no significant progress until 2031. This means that for 12 years following its initial pledge, Pret intends to continue sourcing chickens from systems that Anima deems ethically unacceptable.

Connor Jackson, the Chief Executive of Anima, articulated the organization’s frustration with unvarnished clarity. "Pret is sitting on its hands whilst telling us it’s committed to better chicken – that’s not commitment, that’s an empty promise," Jackson stated. "Pret’s chickens are bred to grow so unnaturally fast that their bodies break down, leaving many unable to walk and in pain. Pret promised to spare these animals from the worst of factory farming. It broke that promise, and judging by its continued inaction, Pret has no intention of honouring its commitment."

Jackson further emphasized the severity of the welfare implications: "The current practices mean that these birds suffer immensely. They are often unable to stand, their legs buckle under the weight of their unnaturally large bodies, and they endure constant pain. This is a direct consequence of the genetic manipulation and intensive farming methods that Pret has continued to rely upon, despite its public commitment to change."

A Broader Industry Trend: Retreat from Welfare Standards

Pret’s situation is not isolated. The past year has seen a significant trend of major fast-food brands withdrawing from the Better Chicken Commitment. Eight restaurant groups, collectively representing 18 brands including prominent names like Burger King, Wagamama, Nando’s, and KFC, officially rescinded their adherence to the BCC earlier this year. Anima had previously characterized these withdrawals as being "about money and nothing else," suggesting that the economic pressures of sourcing more ethically raised, slower-growing birds were too significant for these companies to bear.

In a pointed comparison, Jackson highlighted the difference between honesty and perceived deception. "KFC is being honest about letting its chickens down, whereas Pret is still pretending and hoping its customers fall for it," he remarked. "This campaign is about ensuring that Pret acts rather than talks. We are using our resources to create a public outcry that cannot be ignored. The visual impact of this campaign is designed to shock and inform, prompting consumers to question the provenance of their food and the ethical standards of the companies they support."

Supporting Movements and the Future of Animal Welfare in Food

The Public Accountability Campaign is not operating in a vacuum. It has garnered support from Project Slingshot, an organization known for its impactful visual activism. Project Slingshot recently gained notoriety for projecting video footage of pigs being slaughtered onto prominent London landmarks, raising public awareness about the realities of industrial animal agriculture. This collaboration signifies a growing synergy between different animal rights organizations, leveraging diverse tactics to achieve common goals.

The visual element of Anima’s campaign includes powerful imagery, such as that of poultry feeding in a factory farm, with some chickens exhibiting visible sores and missing feathers – a stark representation of the conditions that Anima seeks to expose. The statistic that ninety percent of the more than one billion chickens farmed in the UK each year are fast-growing breeds underscores the systemic nature of the problem and the widespread reliance on these methods.

The implications of Pret A Manger’s continued reliance on fast-growing chicken breeds extend beyond the immediate welfare of the birds. It raises questions about corporate responsibility, the sincerity of public commitments, and the power of consumer advocacy. As Anima’s campaign gains momentum, the pressure on Pret to either fulfill its original promise or face sustained public disapproval will undoubtedly intensify. The organization’s message is clear: the time for excuses is over, and the era of "Frankenchickens" must come to an end.

Anima has provided resources for the public to learn more about their work and the issues surrounding industrial chicken farming, directing interested individuals to their website for further information. The organization’s commitment to transparency and advocacy is evident in their open invitation for engagement and education.

This development serves as a critical reminder of the ongoing debate surrounding animal welfare in the food industry and the vital role that consumer awareness and organizational activism play in driving corporate change. The £1 million campaign signifies a significant escalation in Anima’s efforts, aiming to force a reckoning for Pret A Manger and, by extension, for the broader food industry’s practices concerning broiler chickens.