PETA president Ingrid E. Newkirk sent the following letter to Triarc’s CEO Roland Smith and Chair Nathan Peltz today challenging the Atlanta-based company to improve Wendy’s animal practices:

“Dear Messrs. Smith and Peltz:

I’m writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 1.8 million members and supporters worldwide regarding your purchase of Wendy’s.

I know that there are many people unhappy with this purchase, but I want you to know that those of us at PETA who have been nudging Wendy’s to eliminate the worst abuses of the animals raised and killed for its restaurants are relieved. Perhaps now, Wendy’s will make some long-overdue progress on this issue.

Specifically, Wendy’s still purchases all of its eggs from suppliers that cram birds into cages so small that the birds can’t even stretch a wing. Confined to these tiny cages—-which have been outlawed throughout the entire European Union and even condemned by the His Holiness the Pope—-birds can’t engage in any natural behaviors. They marinate in their own waste and the waste of birds caged above them, and they languish among the corpses of birds who have died and are simply left to rot.

We aren’t asking Wendy’s to go vegan—-as much as we’d love to see that for the sake of animals, the Earth, and your customers’ girth and longevity—-but Wendy’s could at least move away from using eggs from caged birds. Wendy’s competitors, including Burger King, Carl’s Jr., and Hardee’s, have all begun phasing in the use of cage-free eggs; grocery chains Harris Teeter and Safeway have recently agreed to drastically increase the amount of cage-free eggs that they sell; and numerous corporations—like AOL—only sell cage-free eggs in their corporate cafeterias.

I hope to hear from you that Wendy’s will begin phasing in the use of cage-free eggs, and I would be happy to work with you on a plan for doing so that fits Triarc’s business framework.

I look forward to your reply.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E. Newkirk

President”