DPA: US protestor "pushed and shoved" by food chain employees in Cairo

From Monsters and Critics.com
Middle East News

By DPA
Feb 17, 2007, 17:07 GMT

Cairo - An American protestor claimed Saturday he was pushed and shoved by Kentucky Fried Chicken employees in downtown Cairo after he dressed as a giant 'crippled chicken' to protest what he called 'abuse' of chickens in factory farms and slaughterhouses.

'We were protesting, (then) KFC employees started pushing and shoving,' said Jason Baker, who is originally from the US state of Michigan.

Baker, 34, is a member of a group called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and supports a worldwide campaign against the food chain.

The campaign alleges - according to a recent press release by PETA - that 'at slaughterhouses that supply KFC, birds are still alive after having their throats slit are scalded to death in defeathering tanks.'

According to the campaign's official website, the abuse includes 'live scalding, life-long crippling, and painful debeaking.'

As Baker protested with an Egyptian fellow activist holding signs in English and Arabic reading 'KFC cripples chicken,' employees from KFC came out of the store to talk with the protestors.

As the activists refused to leave, the employees allegedly pushed Baker, forcing him away from the store. Baker claimed that he 'hit the ground' and was kicked.

However, a KFC staff member who was present told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa on condition of anonymity that 'we did not push the protestor to the ground, no-one harassed the protestor.

We only wanted to understand why they're protesting. We asked them a few questions. They were not convincing. Their flyers were not convincing.'

He added: 'We slaughter according to the Islamic tradition, slaughtering is done legally according to this tradition. Our slaughterhouses are supervised by the health ministry.

'We did not push them away. They were taken away by the police. We were trying to urge them to stay away from the store, away from the entrance. Their presence annoyed some of the customers.'

Plain-clothed national security members who came to the scene intervened and carried Baker to a nearby building. He was said to be bruised, but suffered no major injuries. Baker was questioned by members of the security police, then released after around two hours.

No complaints were filed nor any inquiry instigated, although the employees and Baker were questioned. 'But none of the employees were detained,' Baker said.

Police escorted Baker back to his hotel room and requested that he not talk to the press. He was also told to inform the police of any upcoming protest 'for their protection.'

'It's kind of ironic that these employees have this attitude, (similar to) people that run the company in Kentucky,' Baker told dpa after the incident.

'It's from the ground level and the executives. They seem to be rather aggressive. But we will be back.'

dpa pa

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