PETA won't let a KFC stunt proceed without a little harassment

PETA isn't one to chicken out of a challenge, particularly from Kentucky Fried Chicken. When KFC said last week it would fill potholes in five major U.S. cities and then stencil the over the spots the words "Re-freshed by KFC," PETA offered to double KFC's payments to one city—Louisville, Ky.—if the city would agree to have the line "KFC tortures animals" on the fixed potholes instead. "Louisville streets may have suffered winter damage, but it's nothing compared to what chickens endure on the way to KFC's buckets and boxes," PETA evp Tracy Reiman said in a statement. "KFC needs to focus on the holes in its animal welfare policy and try to patch up its reputation for cruelly produced food." Reiman wrote a letter making the offer to Jerry Abramson, the mayor of Louisville. According to a local TV station, the mayor declined through a spokesman. "Well, we are certainly happy that PETA cares about potholes in Kentucky. But I think I'll pass on this offer," Chris Poynter, a rep for Mayor Abramson's office, told NBC affiliate Wave3. PETA has a long history of opposition to the chicken chain and most recently got a "sexy leprechaun lady" to stand outside a KFC on St. Patrick's Day to urge customers to chase a pot of gold instead of buckets of chicken.

—Posted by Todd Wasserman