Melbourne, Aug 11 (ANI): Parents are fuming over a new People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) campaign targeting McDonalds.

Parents say that the animal rights group’s ‘McCruelty Campaign’ is unfairly targeting their kids at restaurants across America with ‘Unhappy Meals’ featuring a knife-wielding Ronald McDonald and bloody rubber chickens

According to Fox News, parents say that they don’t want their kids exposed to any throat-slitting chickens or pictures of slaughtered poultry.

“I don’t want my son to be around something like this. This is not fair for a child,” News.com.au quoted Stephaine Gipson as saying.

Michelle Natale said: “I think it’s unhappy that they target children.”

However, PETA activists claim that children are jaded enough by television and video games to handle the carnographic images, and intend to continue their campaign pressuring McDonald’s to use more humane means of killing chickens.

“I think children and adults deserve to be told the truth - and that’s that behind Ronald McDonald’s smile is cruelty to animals,” PETA spokeswoman Lindsay Rajt said.

Rajt said most parents are usually troubled by what PETA calls McDonald’s cruel treatment of chickens, and said that kids who “naturally empathise” with animals enjoy PETA’s presence outside the Golden Arches.

“Kids are usually very excited to see the free T-shirts and they like our person in the chicken costume,” Rajt said.

A spokesman for McDonald defended the franchise, insisting it supports the use of a stunning technique that numbs its chickens before they are slaughtered.

“McDonald’s works with leading independent animal welfare experts and makes decisions based upon science to promote continuous improvement in animal welfare as part of our broader sustainable supply chain initiatives,” said Bob Langert, McDonald’s vice president of corporate social responsibility. (ANI)