 In 2001 , the animal rights group PETA began targeting fast food chains in the United States regarding the treatment of chickens by suppliers such as Tyson Foods . Using parodies of corporate logos and slogans , the group sought to publicly embarrass the companies into changing their corporate policies in dealing with their poultry suppliers . After winning concessions from McDonald 's with its " McCruelty " campaign , the group targeted Burger King with a six @-@ month campaign it called Murder King . The group and its supporters , with the backing of celebrities including Alec Baldwin , James Cromwell , and Richard Pryor , staged protests outside Burger King restaurants across the United States , calling on the company to establish these new compliance guidelines . On June 28 , 2001 , Burger King entered into an agreement with the group and established a contractual framework that defined procedures to ensure that its suppliers were conforming to the agreed @-@ upon standards of animal welfare . These changes , along with the company 's new vegetarian offering , the BK Veggie sandwich , drew praise from the group . 
