A live but disoriented chicken was dumped at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Maple Ridge on Monday.
The hen was discovered by staff around 8 p.m., clucking and pacing in the franchise lobby.
Unaccustomed to handling live chickens, staff at the store on Lougheed Highway opened the door and set the fowl free in the parking lot.
The chicken, however, got in the way of cars lined up in KFC's drive-thru lane and made a near-fatal attempt to cross Lougheed Highway.
Ederliza Villanueva said that's when staff decided to catch the chicken and call the SPCA. Amused customers photographed the bird.
"It was so weird," said Villanueva, who was working an evening shift at the fried chicken restaurant.
SPCA staff have christened the hen - Lucky.
"It's a bit of a sick joke," said SPCA manager Mark Vosper.
The hen doesn't look like she's been abused or mistreated.
She was fed and spent the night at the shelter, but will eventually go to a foster home and be put up for adoption if an owner doesn't claim her.
"She had a comfortable place to stay overnight," said Vosper.
He isn't sure if the chicken was dumped at KFC in protest or whether it was a silly prank.
No animal rights organization has claimed responsibility.
In 2008, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called off its five-year battle with KFC Canada after the company agreed to improve its chicken slaughter conditions and introduce vegan menu options.
PETA's Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign in Canada was supported by many celebrities, including Pamela Anderson, the Dalai Lama and Paul McCartney.
As part of the agreement, KFC Canada pledged to buy poultry from suppliers who use controlled-atmosphere killing (i.e. gas their chickens) – a form of killing PETA says is "the least cruel form of poultry slaughter ever developed."
• If you own the hen, call the Maple Ridge branch of the SPCA at 604-463-9511.