LOS ANGELES -- Militant animal defenders PETA said Tuesday they had dropped a lawsuit against KFC, after the fast-food giant agreed to change its statement on how its chickens are treated before reaching the restaurant.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) dropped the suit after the vendor, formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, and its parent chain Yum! agreed to change their Internet pages' descriptions of how their chickens are slaughtered.

"It may be legal to scald animals to death in feather removal tanks and to breed and drug them so that they cripple under their own weight, but it is not legal to lie about it," PETA official Bruce Friedrich told AFP. "KFC called our lawsuit a 'publicity stunt,' which was a pathetic attempt to divert attention from the KFC's own pattern of lies and deceit regarding its horrific treatment of the chickens who are served up in KFC buckets," he said.

PETA sued KFC in Los Angeles Superior Court in July for allegedly disguising "grotesque abuses inflicted upon chickens by suppliers" in its online advertising. Yum! Brands senior vice president, Jonathan Blum, speaking when the suit was filed, said that "KFC is committed to the well-being and humane treatment of chickens."

The claims that have been removed from the KFC and Yum! Brands websites include statements that chickens raised for KFC suffer no pain or injuries; that humane treatment of the birds is "ensured"; that KFC prohibits its suppliers from giving chickens growth-promoting substances; and that KFC has had an animal-welfare policy in place for nearly a decade.

"We're pleased that KFC's dishonesty has been exposed and we will continue our fight to expose and stop the company's horrific abuse of animals," PETA attorney Matthew Penzer said in a statement.