McCruelty: PETA's Campaign Against McDonald's

Update: In February 2009, PETA lifted its moratorium against McDonald's after the company failed to require that its U.S. chicken suppliers adopt a less cruel method of slaughter. Learn more.

On September 5, 2000, PETA called off its "McCruelty" campaign—which lasted 11 months and included more than 400 demonstrations in 23 countries as well as high-profile graphic ads and billboards—when McDonald's agreed to make improvements in the way that it treats farmed animals. This marked the first time in U.S. history that a major corporation agreed to make farmed-animal welfare improvements.

PETA called off its 'McCruelty' campaign when the company agreed to do the following things:

• Stop buying eggs from suppliers that give hens less than 72 square inches of space per bird (the industry average was 48 square inches)
• Stop buying eggs from suppliers that withhold food and water in order to increase egg production (a process known as "forced molting")
• Institute more humane catching methods for chickens in order to reduce instances of bruising and painful injuries by offering financial incentives to employees who handle the birds carefully and don't break any of the animals' bones
• Initiate audits of slaughterhouses, and for the first time ever, stop working with several suppliers that were not operating in compliance with humane-slaughter guidelines