The move to what is considered to be more a welfare friendly form of poultry slaughter follows pressure from the animal rights group, PETA.

KFC Canada is the first major restaurant chain to commit to phasing in the exclusive purchasing of chicken meat from CAK slaughterhouses. The restaurant chain has also agreed to introduce a vegan faux-chicken item to the menu of all 461 Priszm-owned KFC restaurants - more than half of all the KFCs in Canada).

PETA said KFC in Canada is also going to improve its animal welfare audit criteria to reduce the number of broken bones and other injuries suffered by birds.

And PETA says it will also urge its suppliers to adopt better practices, including improved lighting, lower stocking density and ammonia levels, and a phaseout of growth-promoting drugs and breeding practices that painfully cripple chickens and form an animal welfare advisory panel to monitor the changes and recommend further advancements.

"This is an enormous victory for PETA and our supporters," said a PETA spokesman.

"However, outside Canada, KFC has not acted to stop the worst abuses of chickens."