VAUGHN, Ontario, June 4 (UPI) -- Chicken purveyor KFC Canada has bowed to five years of pressure from a U.S. animal rights group on the way its chickens are slaughtered.

From its headquarters in Norfolk, Va., the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has pressured the global chain since 2003 to end the practice of slaughtering the fowl using electric shocks, the Canwest News Service reported.

After seven months of talks with the food retailer at its headquarters north of Toronto in Vaughn, KFC Canada president Steve Langford said the company had agreed to have its suppliers switch to a system in which oxygen is replaced with other gases to render the birds unconscious before slaughter, the report said.

Langford said KFC Canada was also planning to reintroduce a meat-free vegan sandwich soon at most of its restaurants, the report said.

"(PETA) can be unpleasant to deal with, and from a business point of view, it's nice to put that behind you," Langford told the news agency.