United States-PETA targets McDonalds.

UNITED STATES-PETA TARGET McDONALDS.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Monday announced a new offensive against McDonald’s Corp., demanding that the fast-food giant require its U.S. chicken suppliers adopt a "less cruel" method of slaughter.

PETA is reinstating its "McCruelty" campaign following a nine-year moratorium on protests against McDonald’s, which PETA instituted after the Oak Brook, Ill.-based chain made animal welfare changes including auditing slaughterhouses.

PETA believes chickens should be slaughtered with gas, and is publicizing its view with tools such as a Web site and protests, including one planned for Monday afternoon at McDonald’s huge outlet in downtown Chicago featuring rock star Chrissie Hynde.

Almost all U.S. chicken slaughter plants use conventional stunning, which is based on the fact that animals can be put into an unconscious state by a low-level electrical current. This is usually facilitated by contact with water or an aqueous mist. Moments after being stunned, the birds are passed by a blade that opens an artery, resulting in rapid death, according to a statement from the National Chicken Council.

"According to scientists, there is no advantage in terms of animal welfare for gas killing systems for poultry compared to the conventional stunning systems used by the United States chicken industry," the NCC statement said. "The industry feels that while gas systems are worthy of further study, there is no proven reason yet to move away from conventional stunning systems."