KFC animal rights campaigner abandons protest after being pelted with poultry

An animal rights campaigner was forced to abandon a protest outside KFC after he was punched, rugby tackled and pelted with poultry when he dressed up as a giant chicken to highlight his cause. Olly Tyler, 16, arrived for a two-day protest outside his local KFC outlet dressed in a bespoke chicken costume. He had planned to wave a placard outside the outlets for two days in a bid to deter customers but within hours he was forced to abandon the campaign after diners began hurling sachets of sauce, chicken wings and nuggets at him.

The final straw came when one diner punched him in the head and two men jumped from their car and rugby tackled him to the ground. Mr Tyler, who did not suffer any injuries thanks to his 7ft tall chicken suit, was so shaken by the incident he has vowed not to return to the KFC in Trowbridge, Wilts. Mr Tyler, from Westwood, Wilts., was given money from relatives after doing well in his GCSEs and used it to buy a £600 chicken suit, which was handmade in Paris.


Photo from SWNS.

The teenager decided to protest outside KFC after reading an article claiming the factory hens are kept in horrific conditions. "I was standing on a grass island outside the KFC so I was completely exposed. It was quite hard to see where the attacks were coming from because of the suit," he said. "I've protested outside this KFC before and I was pelted with three chicken wings but this time it was much worse. People threw sauce and chicken wings at me as well as chicken nuggets. When I left the ground was covered in them.

"One guy punched me in the head. It didn't hurt but I was really shocked. Twenty minutes later, two guys got out of their car and rugby tackled me to the ground. I have no idea why they did it. I think they just got caught in the hype. I decided not to return the next day. When you are in a chicken costume you can't do anything to defend yourself." A spokesman for KFC said: "At KFC, we are committed to poultry welfare and we use only reputable suppliers, that are the same as the UK's leading supermarkets and restaurants, which meet or exceed UK and EU regulations on quality and welfare."