Protesters took the 400m-long petition to Pret A Manger’s headquarters, accusing the retailer of failing to honour its 2026 chicken welfare commitment.
A protest petition stretching 400 metres was delivered to Pret A Manger’s head office as campaigners stepped up pressure on the sandwich chain over it’s chicken welfare commitments.
Organised by animal welfare group Anima, the action comes as more than 100,000 people have pledged to boycott Pret after the company pushed back on its commitment to stop sourcing fast-growing chicken breeds. New analysis by Development Economics estimates the boycott could cost the retailer £3 million in lost revenue during its first year,
Campaigners accuse Pret of continuing to source so-called “frankenchickens” that are bred to grow significantly faster than traditional breeds. They argue that many customers are unaware of the conditions in which the birds are raised and mistakenly believe the company’s chicken comes from higher-welfare systems.
“Pret’s customers are being conned by empty promises,” said Connor Jackson, chief executive of Anima. “Every day people eat at Pret with expectations of high animal welfare, and yet behind their polished marketing, frankenchickens are collapsing in their own waste from leg disorders and heart failure.”
NHS GP, TV doctor, and author Dr Amir Khan slammed the chain for “putting profit above animal welfare” as he led several hundred “frankenchicken” campaigners in the stunt and rally outside Pret’s offices in Victoria.
“Companies like Pret need to put animal welfare above profit and honour their promise to do better for frankenchickens,” said Dr Amir Khan. “Over 100,000 people have pledged to take a break from Pret until they do the right thing, and I stand in solidarity with them and with factory farmed chickens that suffer.”
Pret first pledged in 2018 to eliminate fast-growing chickens from its supply chain by 2026. However, campaigners claim the company has made no progress towards the target and has since extended.
An open letter to Pret chief executive Pano Christou, signed by prominent animal protections organisations including Humane World for Animals, FOUR PAWS UK, Animal Equality UK and the Humane League was published in several full-page newspaper ads today.
“More than 100,000 people and nine animal charities have sent a clear message that we want faster and firmer progress on chicken welfare at Pret,” said Claire Bass, Senior Director of Campaigns and Public Affairs at Humane World for Animals. “While Pret has made commitments, the company is waiting too long to turn them into action. We are joining Anima in calling on Pret to match its commitments with action and start moving away from ‘frankenchickens’ now, not in five or six years’ time. One of Pret’s core values is ‘doing the right thing’, and quickly ending completely avoidable suffering of millions of birds will be a powerful and popular way to put that value into practice.”
Earlier this year Pret pushed its commitment deadline back to 2032. This was dismissed by the animal welfare charity Anima and naturalist Chris Packham as “a cover for continued inaction”, leading to public backlash.
The new polling reveals that only one in ten of the public (13 per cent) accurately expect Pret’s chicken to come from standard indoor farms. 52 per cent mistakenly believe that Pret’s chickens come from high welfare farms, and 41%**mistakenly believe they have outdoor access. Pret A Manger was approached for comment ahead of publication.