Chris Packham: “I Won’t Set Foot In Pret” Until They Keep Their Promise To Chickens

Naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham joined Anima in leading a protest outside a Pret A Manger in Waterloo, London. His message to customers: he's done eating there.

He wasn't alone. The Frankenwrap, our 4-metre animatronic chicken, was there too, drawing crowds of commuters who wanted to know exactly what a giant fake chicken stuffed in a Pret wrapper was doing outside their lunch spot.

"It's a horror story dressed up as a lunch menu"

Chris doesn't mince words:

"I am absolutely furious at Pret for breaking their promise to chickens. Factory farming has broken the chicken. Bred to grow so fast that they can barely walk, scrabbling around in their own waste, broken bones and deformities… The life of a fast-growing chicken is hell. It's a horror story dressed up as a lunch menu. It's absolutely unacceptable."

We couldn't agree more. That's why we've allocated £1m to expose the suffering of Pret's chickens, and hold them to their word.

Pret: 'we're trying to do the right thing.'

Pret promised in 2018 to stop selling these fast-growing "frankenchickens" by 2026. That deadline has now passed, and Pret has pushed it back to 2032 - fourteen years after their original commitment.

In response to this campaign, Pret has criticised us for exposing a company that is 'trying to do the right thing', instead of other companies that have admitted that they don't care about chicken welfare.

"Pret is pretending. I'm not falling for it."

Chris has seen this pattern before. Over the past seven years we have campaigned side by side with Chris to create a better future for chickens.

Waitrose stopped selling frankenchickens in 2025. M&S has removed them from their fresh chicken products. Most UK retailers have agreed to give their chickens more living space.

But some companies are now going back on their word. Earlier this year, eighteen UK companies - including KFC, Nando's and Burger King - withdrew their commitments to stop selling frankenchickens. Chris was rightly furious that these companies had abandoned the chickens in their supply chains.

But Chris argues that Pret is being equally deceptive by 'pretending to care.'

"It was bad enough when KFC, Nando's and Burger King withdrew their commitments to stop selling frankenchickens. But what Pret are doing is equally insidious. They're pretending to be committed to ending their use of frankenchickens whilst doing nothing about it. I'm not falling for it. When a company is committed to making a change for animals, they don't wait 14 years to do it."

That's why Chris is joining us in taking a break from Pret:

"I’m joining the campaign to hold Pret to account. I'm taking a break from Pret, and I won't be setting foot in their cafes until they produce a real, credible plan to stop selling frankenchickens, just like they promised to do eight years ago."

The pressure is building

Chris joins over 40,000 people who've already signed our pledge to take a break from Pret until they deliver on their promise. This week's protest has already made headlines, and the Frankenwrap keeps drawing crowds wherever it goes.

Pret has a choice: keep stalling, or actually do what they promised in 2018. Waitrose managed it. The whole Norwegian chicken industry is doing it by next year. There's no excuse for Pret's inaction.

If you haven't already, tell Pret to keep their promise.

Connor Jackson
CEO
Anima
+447504580011
connor.jackson@anima.org.uk