Police end first PETA protest in Cambodia

Activists of the animal rights group PETA sit in a cage as they stage a protest outside a KFC outlet against the restaurant's alleged mistreatment of chickens in Phnom-Penh. Police broke up PETA's first protest in Cambodia, saying the two activists who sat in a cage outside the KFC outlet had disturbed "public order" with their "strange" actions.

13 August 2012

AFP - Baffled police broke up animal rights group PETA's first protest in Cambodia Monday, saying activists who sat in a cage outside a KFC outlet had disturbed "public order" with their "strange" actions.

The two foreign campaigners from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the protest in the capital Phnom Penh was meant to raise awareness of the alleged cruel treatment of chickens by the fast food chain, which has 10 restaurants in the country.

Preap Borei, a deputy police chief of the capital's Daun Penh district, said the duo were asked to stop their protest because it "affected public order" and were briefly taken in for questioning before being let go.

PETA activists protest against KFC in Phnom Penh

(All Photo: Siv Channa, CEN)

PETA: KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Cruelty

Animal rights group threatens to protest Cambodia's KFC restaurants

Wed, 31 Oct 2007
DPA

Phnom Penh - An international animal rights group has urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to ban proposed Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlets from the country and threatened protests by celebrities if the fast-food chain opens, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) spokeswoman Ashley Fruno said by email that celebrities like actress Pamela Anderson and singer Morrissey were staunch supporters of PETA's campaign against KFC.

"We hope to use creative ways and colourful protests to educate Cambodians about KFC's horrific treatment of animals in the future," she wrote in an email Wednesday.

PETA has mounted a sustained campaign against KFC, dubbing it "Kentucky Fried Cruelty" for alleged infringements of animal rights. KFC would be Cambodia's first global food chain.

KFC plans to open outlets imminently in the major tourist centres of Sihanoukville, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh in partnership with Malaysian-based QSR Brands Bhd, Rightlink Corp Ltd and Cambodian partner Royal Group Ltd.

"We hope you will act to protect Cambodia's health and culture by refusing to allow KFC and the abusive farming practices it perpetuates from entering your country," PETA Asia Pacific director Jason Baker wrote in an open letter to Hun Sen.

"With every KFC restaurant comes cruelty to animals, the threat of deadly diseases and blight on the urban landscape," Baker wrote in a separate press release. "We are asking Hun Sen to do his people, his country and his legacy - not to mention countless chickens - a big favour."

Under secretary of state for the Ministry of Culture, Ching Chhorng, said by telephone Wednesday that he doubted KFC would destroy Cambodian civilization. "Cambodians need jobs. Chains like KFC can provide them," he said.

PETA beats KFC to the punch in Cambodia, whether Hun Sen will listen to PETA or KFC is a different matter

Australian model Sarah Jane is appearing in an ad on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals urging consumers to boycott KFC. (Photo: PETA)

Animal-rights group asks Cambodian PM to bar KFC

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- An international animal-rights organization has urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to prevent the U.S.-based fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) from opening in Cambodia, claiming that it threatens Cambodian culture, people's health and leads to animal abuse, local media said Wednesday.

In a letter to Hun Sen dated Tuesday, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said tourists do not come to Cambodia to eat at international fast-food chains, the Cambodia Daily newspaper said.

Such outlets "erode culture, as they make one country resemble every other country," PETA Asia-Pacific Director Jason Baker wrote in the letter.

The intensive farming required to supply KFC outlets would also increase the risks of food-born diseases caused by salmonella and E coli and the likelihood of a bird-flu epidemic, Baker wrote.

"We hope you will act to protect Cambodia's health and culture by refusing to allow KFC and the abusive farming practices it perpetuates from entering the country," he wrote.

Cambodian Information Minister and government spokesman Khieu Kanharith confirmed that the Ministry of Commerce had granted KFC authorization to operate in the country, the newspaper said.

KFC will open outlets in Cambodia's three major tourist centers: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap town and Sihanoukville, Khieu Kanharith said.