Lettuce-bikini-clad ladies turned heads — mostly those of men — as they tempted Kamloopsians to go vegetarian.

The Lettuce Ladies, ambassadors for vegetarianism, were outside the KFC on Notre Dame Drive Tuesday, offering passersby a taste of its new vegetarian sandwich.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and KFC have come together in an unlikely partnership to reduce the suffering of the millions of chickens slaughtered for the fowl franchise every year.

The result of the coalition is the faux chicken sandwich, said to have the same texture and flavour of real chicken — minus the cruelty.

Nicole Matthews, PETA Lettuce Lady campaigner, has been working her way across Canada, promoting the soy-based sandwich and said, so far, its been well-received.

“People love the new sandwich,” Matthews said as vehicles slowed and honked at the leafy ladies.

“We haven’t had one person say anything negative — it’s been absolutely positive.”

Matthews, who was in Kamloops in February protesting the fast-food chain, said the agreement is an enormous victory for PETA, which has been pressuring KFC to stop the worst abuses of chickens for the last five years.

And, with the new vegetarian sandwich — available at 65 per cent of chains across the country, including Kamloops — comes

an end to the Kentucky Fried Cruelty boycott in Canada.

The issue, Matthews said, is KFC suppliers stuff the birds into huge waste-filled factories for breeding, drug them so they grow so large they can’t walk and often break their wings and legs.

“At slaughter, the birds’ throats are slit and they are dropped into tanks of hot water while they are still conscious and are scalded to death,” she said.

After months of negotiations with the company that purchases chickens for all Canadian KFCs, the historic animal welfare plan was developed, which ensures birds are bought from purchasers who use controlled-atmosphere killing — the least-cruel form of poultry slaughter. It encourages improved monitoring audits to reduce broken bones and injuries suffered by the birds and urges suppliers to adopt better bird-raising practices, like improved lighting, more space, lower ammonia levels and the eventual phasing-out of drugs.

Although the faux chicken is cooked with the same utensils and oil as the regular chicken — which goes against true PETA rules — Matthews said it’s about making vegetarian choices easy and accessible for consumers.

“PETA’s aim is to eliminate the suffering of animals and, having our food cooked next to meat, that doesn’t cause any additional suffering to animals — it actually causes more suffering if people don’t support the vegetarian options that exist in mainstream establishments and encourage people to try vegetarian foods where ever they exist.”