Animal rights protesters PETA startle consumers as they shackle supporter by her ft outdoors busy London KFC and fake to slit her throat in faux blood-drenched demonstration

Animal rights activists have staged an eye-catching protest by hanging a woman from her feet outside a London KFC and pretending to slit her throat in a bid to highlight how some chickens are slaughtered for food.

Several protesters from PETA were involved in the demo, which took place outside a branch of the fast-food chain on Brixton Road, Lambeth, at 12pm on Wednesday.

Two female activists, nude but for a beige bodysuit, were hung upside down with shackles around their ankles to simulate the way that many chickens are slaughtered before they end up on our supermarket shelves.

The women had fake wounds to their legs and were smeared with fake blood even before being approached by a male activist, who was dressed in blue overalls.

Holding a prop meat cleaver, he then proceeded to pretend to cut the women’s throats while fake blood spurted from their necks.

One of the women was pictured pretending to scream as the ‘killing’ took place. 

The protest was accompanied with placards and signs which read: ‘Chickens: Shackled and bled out. Please, try vegan’.

The activists took to the streets of London during Veganuary to encourage members of the British public to stop eating animal products. 

Several protesters from PETA were involved in the demo, which took place outside a branch of KFC on Brixton Road, Lambeth, at 12pm on Wednesday

The protesters were hung upside down by their ankles before a third protester pretended to cut their throats

Video footage showed how shocked passersby stopped to watch the demonstration, with many filming it on their phones. 

According to PETA, chickens ‘form complex social structures, dream when they sleep, and worry about the future’ just like humans.

‘Chickens are curious, social, and full of personality, and they don’t want to be killed for a fleeting taste of their flesh any more than any human would,’ said PETA Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen. 

‘PETA is encouraging diners to leave chickens in peace, not pieces, by choosing delicious plant-powered foods instead.’

Most chickens bred for their meat in the UK are killed using gas, according to the RSPCA.

But some slaughterhouses still use the traditional system which sees the birds hung upside down and stunned, using a water tank and electric currents. After being stunned, their throats are then cut.

This method has long been criticised by animal welfare activists and charities, who argue that shackling and hanging conscious birds causes them stress and pain. 

Concerns have also been raised that not all chickens are successfully stunned during this process, meaning they are conscious when killed.

The activists used a prop meat cleaver and fake blood to simulate the way that some chickens are slaughtered in Britain

PETA’s protesters were pictured after the demo covered in fake blood – they also had fake wounds to their legs

The activists were hung against a backdrop mimicking a real slaughterhouse

The gas-based system was first brought in to the UK in 1996 and is now the most widely used.

The group’s latest protest follows several over the past 12 months targeting the chicken industry, including erecting adverts outside chicken shops encouraging diners to eat vegan burgers, and plastering them on London buses.

PETA also placed an ad on a giant billboard directly above a chicken shop in Stockwell, asking would-be customers to go vegan. 

And last month, activists interrupted the 2025 Fashion Awards when a demonstrator ran onto the red carpet in a protest against leather.

A female protester held up a sign reading: ‘Leather is destroying the planet. Wear your own skin.’