KFC protester tackled, pelted with food

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WESTWOOD, England, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A British teenager who dressed in a giant chicken suit for a protest outside a KFC restaurant said he was punched, tackled and covered in food.

Olly Tyler, 16, of Westwood, England, said he is a vegetarian and decided to protest outside the KFC fast food restaurant after hearing allegations of inhumane treatment of hens at the eatery's factories, The Sun reported Wednesday.

Tyler said he spent more than $960 on a 7-foot-tall chicken suit and stood outside the eatery a few days before Christmas with a sign calling on patrons to "Boycott KFC Cruelty."

"I've protested outside this KFC before and I was pelted with three chicken wings, but this time it was much worse," Tyler said. "People threw sauce and chicken wings at me as well as chicken nuggets. When I left the ground was covered in them. One guy punched me in the head. It didn't hurt but I was really shocked. Twenty minutes later, two guys got out of their car and rugby tackled me to the ground. I have no idea why they did it. I think they just got caught in the hype."

Tyler said he is done protesting KFC and is now working for Greenpeace's Save the Arctic campaign.

A manager at the KFC said many customers thought Tyler was part of a promotion.

"We told the customers we were doing a promotion," the manager said. "He was standing there as a chicken, and on the top of his sign it said KFC with the Colonel's head."