Thursday, October 13, 2005 - by Sean Doogan
Anchorage, Alaska - It was a cold and crisp autumn day, but that didn't stop the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals from staging an eye-popping protest in Midtown Anchorage today.
The target wasn't the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, aerial predator control or other PETA-targeted specific beefs -- in fact, it wasn't a beef at all, it was more like crying fowl.
The signs of an Alaska autumn dust the mountaintops and litter the ground. Season visitors take one last pit stop, and there's a bunny in Midtown. In 35-degree temperatures, Playboy Magazine's 2002 Miss July, Lauren Anderson, has a close encounter with Alaska’s 2005 October. Wearing a yellow bikini, 
white boots, earmuffs and lots of goose bumps, Anderson was brought here by PETA to take up a fight against Kentucky Fried Chicken and the farmers who supply the fast-food chain with more than 850 million birds a year.
“KFC tortures the chickens and they treat them inhumanely, and we're not asking them to not buy the chickens, we’re just asking them to treat them in a humane fashion. It's not that much to ask for,” Anderson said.
PETA and Anderson want people to boycott the colonel until KFC executives commit to better living conditions for their birds. But in a state like Alaska, did the daring display work?
“I think it's getting a lot of people's attention, just how she's dressed,” Bob Serafine said.
But did Anderson change any minds about KFC today?
“No, no way, none, ‘cause they just see sex, they don't see anything else,” said Jo Jillson (right).
One group of men were on their way to Arby's when they spotted the yellow bikini.
“Yeah, I was ‘til I seen what was going on here, and I flipped a U-ey real quick and had to come check it out,” said Mike Utley (right), who ate at KFC because of the protest.
They left with chicken, but Anderson seemed unfazed.
“It’s really cold out here and I'm in a bikini, and that's going to draw attention, and that's what I want,” Anderson said.
Anderson got a cold reception from the Alaska weather today, but even as people disagreed with her philosophy, they admired her dedication.
“Look at me, look at me, how smart I am -- I'm in a bikini in Alaska,” Anderson said.
Local and national officials with Kentucky Fried Chicken declined to be interviewed for the story. PETA officials told KTUU-TV that although the Playboy bunny protest has been staged in cities across the world, Anderson's visit was a first for Alaska.