A new location of the chicken finger-based fast-food chain Raising Cane's opened in Portage on Tuesday — and along with eager customers, the grand opening also attracted animal rights and anti-abortion activists.
On Tuesday morning, the parking lot of the new restaurant on Westnedge Avenue, colloquially called Cane’s, was filled with community members, Cane’s employees, and even Buster Bronco celebrating the occasion.
But past the crowd, on the sidewalk, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals member Ciara Lowe was hung upside down from a metal frame, screaming and covered in fake blood, as another PETA member dressed in utility clothing pretended to cut her throat.
“It's very graphic. That's for a reason. I hope that gets people's attention and I think nowadays that is what gets people's attention and so I hope people see this is what happens to the billions of chickens that are killed every year for food we don't need," Lowe said.
She and other PETA members traveled from across the state — and even as far as Georgia — to demonstrate in front of the restaurant with the goal of promoting veganism and protesting Cane’s poultry-based business model.
“If the animals can go through being hung upside down and having their throat slit and bleeding out, then, you know, I can do this for a for a couple hours," Lowe said.
PETA tour campaign specialist Marnie Chambless, who traveled from Atlanta to be at the opening, said the group was hoping to show customers the reality behind the chicken they eat.
“The chicken tenders that they serve were once individuals who feel pain and suffering and suffered a violent death just to become those chicken tenders," Chambless said.
Though most looked on curiously, some heckled the demonstration. One asked if Lowe was for sale.
A few feet away, a group of anti-abortion protestors held large signs with messages like “abortion is murder”. The two groups were unrelated, but had to share the same sidewalk.
Kalamazoo resident Lily Mahar said the scene confused her.
"I don't know why we got, like, abortion protests here. We got naked women laying around with blood on their neck hanging upside down. Like, this is just weird," Mahar said. "I think there's more going on in the world than being vegetarian."
Mahar said the scene didn't do much to change her mind about the chicken tenders.
Chambless said PETA tries to attend as many Cane’s openings as possible.
"We know that these Raising Cane's openings are getting tons of of social traction and we want to make sure that [our] message is loud and clear too," Chambless said.
The group has done this exact demonstration before at other Cane's locations, sometimes being met with legal drama.
The demonstrations seemingly always feature women as the "subject." When asked why this is, Chambless paused for a moment.
"PETA encourages everyone to use their body to speak up for animals in the ways that they would ask us to if they could speak to us," Chambless said.
Around 10 a.m., the crowd lined up as the first chicken fingers were served, and the group from PETA turned their demonstration to face Westnedge Avenue and the passing drivers.
