PETA unveils plan to turn former Fleetwood Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant into Chicken Empathy Museum

A former KFC restaurant on the Fylde could have a radical change of direction - as a museum dedicated to keeping chickens alive.

Animal rights charity PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is proposing that the food chain’s former branch in Fleetwood should be transformed into a Chicken Empathy Museum.

Visitors would learn about chickens’ intelligence, emotional lives, and social bonds, meet PETA’s famous chicken mascot and enjoy vegan food, the production of which the organisation says does not require any animals to suffer or be killed.

The branch, at 54 Lord Street, has been permanently closed since 2024.

With the property up for auction, PETA has sent a letter to Landwood Property Auctions asking whether the owner would consider allowing the group to borrow the property, or donate it to use as a museum for educational purposes.

What PETA says

PETA Vice President of Vegan Projects Dawn Carr said in the letter: “Turning a former KFC into a Chicken Empathy Museum would give this site a new purpose, one that encourages visitors to see chickens as the clever, curious individuals they are. PETA would be delighted to help transform a place once linked to suffering into one that inspires compassion.”

PETA has joined other animal charities, including the RSPCA and World Animal Protection, in criticising the treatment of birds and animals in some sections of the meat industry. The charity says KFC chickens are crammed into crowded sheds and bred to grow so unnaturally large so quickly that their legs can become crippled under their own body weight.

While KFC outlines strict global chicken welfare standards and promises proper care, activists argue that its supply chain operations routinely fail to meet these ideals.

‘From killing chickens to celebrating them’

Jennifer White, PETA UK’s Associate Director of Media and Communications, told the Blackpool Gazette: “We're still awaiting a response from Landwood Property Auctions and hope they'll recognise the opportunity to turn a place once associated with killing chickens into one dedicated to celebrating them.

“Intelligent, sensitive birds are bred to grow at an unnaturally rapid rate, deprived of almost everything that matters to them, and slaughtered while still very young. They rarely, if ever, get the chance to breathe fresh air, bask in the sunshine, dustbathe, forage, or remain with their families – only to end up slaughtered for a snack.

“We don't currently operate any Chicken Empathy Museums, but we think it's an idea whose time has come. Chickens are among the most abused animals on the planet, yet among the least understood. We hope this will be the first museum dedicated to changing that.”

Fleetwood councillor Mary Belshaw, who represents Mount ward on Wyre Council, said: “That shop has been empty for at least five years. This sort of attraction is better than a closed-off building and might bring visitors in - it’s a very novel idea..”

KFC were approached for a comment.