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22/10/99 . People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals . Press Release . USA

GRAPHIC BANNER CONFRONTS McDONALD'S ON HOME TURF
Animal Cruelty is Focus of International Campaign Against McDonald's

Chicago -- Graphic billboards for PETA's new campaign against McDonald's--picturing a bloody cow's head beside the caption, "Do you want fries with that? McCruelty to go."--were rejected by every advertiser here in McDonald's home town. But thanks to a generous Chicago businessman, thousands will now see PETA's message, as a giant 10-by-20-foot banner version of the ad will be hung from the side of his building:

Climbers from Greenpeace are volunteering their time and talents to hang the banner above one of Chicago's busy intersections to target the Oakbrook, Ill.-based McDonald's on its home turf. The sky-high protest is the latest in PETA's new international campaign against the fast food chain, launched this month after McDonald's failure to make even the smallest improvements for the millions of animals it raises inhumanely and slaughters annually. More than 300 demonstrations outside its restaurants will be held around the world by the end of October.

PETA hopes to inform consumers about McDonald's refusal to alleviate horrific conditions for chickens and pigs on its farms, despite a judicial ruling that found McDonald's responsible for cruelty in half a dozen ways. To date, McDonald's has not even attempted to require slaughterhouses to meet humane standards of slaughter, as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture.

McDonald's laying hens are still raised in cages so small that from four to seven hens share space not much larger than a file drawer, and their cages are stacked in warehouses that hold as many as 100,000 hens. Breeding pigs raised for McDonald's are confined for their entire lives to cement stalls without straw or bedding, unable to turn around.

To view a color picture of the banner, and for complete details on PETA's Anti-McDonald's Campaign, please visit our Web site: www.MeatStinks.com.