PETA to target kids with disturbing "Unhappy Meals"

Activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) will hand out "Unhappy Meals" to children at an Albany McDonald's restaurant today to protest alleged chicken abuse, according to a statement this morning by PETA.

PETA alleges that McDonald's allows its chicken suppliers to abuse the animals before they are slaughtered for food. The organization advocates "controlled-atmosphere killing," a method that promotes animal welfare.

Children who buy meals at the McDonald's at 391 Central Ave. today beginning at noon will encounter PETA staff, headed by an activist in a chicken costume.

The "Unhappy Meal" that PETA will give to children - a spoof of a Happy Meal - will include a "menacing, knife-wielding" Ronald McDonald cutout, a ketchup packet disguised as chicken blood, a plastic chicken covered in "blood" and a "McCruelty" t-shirt.

The statement indicates that PETA will target children so they will "join its campaign" to convince McDonald's to change slaughter methods.