NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Former "Baywatch" star and animal-rights activist Pamela Anderson sent a letter Monday to the CEO of the parent company of KFC seeking a meeting to discuss what critics say is the company's abusive treatment of chickens.

"I must admit at the outset that I can't understand why a company that claims to care about animal welfare would continue to allow chickens to be bred and drugged to be so top-heavy that they can barely walk, to be gathered in a manner that breaks their wings and beaks, and to be scalded to death or drowned in feather-removal tanks," Anderson wrote in her letter to Yum! Brands Chairman and CEO David Novak.

A copy of the letter was released to the media.

Anderson, who appears clad in lettuce leaves in new ads for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), began encouraging consumers to boycott the fast-food chain in recent weeks in an effort to convince the company to accept PETA's animal welfare guidelines.

In the letter to Novak, Anderson asked that he get in touch with PETA to arrange a meeting in which the two sides could discuss how KFC and its suppliers treat millions of chickens each year.

"At our meeting, I would very much like to show you video footage of chickens suffering the abuses that PETA is asking you to address, so that you can better understand why I care so much about the pain and misery of these abused little animals," Anderson wrote to Novak.

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in. Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions. Manage alerts | What is this?

The letter comes after Anderson sent a similar note last week to John Bitove, chairman of Priszm Brandz, which is a joint venture with Yum! Brands and owns some of KFC's restaurants in Canada. Anderson is from Canada and thought that this letter would be a more personal start, PETA spokesman Michael McGraw said.

KFC spokeswoman Bonnie Warschauer, reiterated a statement Monday that was initially made last week in response to Anderson's first letter.

"KFC uses only the highest quality ingredients in all the meals we freshly prepare in our restaurant kitchens," Warschauer said. "We buy our quality chicken from the same trusted brands as you do in the supermarkets, like Perdue, Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride."

When asked whether a meeting between Anderson and Novak was expected, Warschauer said this was the only statement KFC would make, but also said she had not seen the latest letter.

Discussions between PETA and KFC about cruelty to chicken allegations broke down this past summer following a meeting between former KFC President Cheryl Bachelder and PETA President Ingrid Newkirk, PETA said.

KFC owns or franchises about 12,300 outlets in 90 countries. Shares of its parent Yum! Brands (YUM: up $0.05 to $33.05, Research, Estimates), which also owns food chains Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W All-American Food Restaurants, and Long John Silvers, were little changed in midday New York Stock Exchange trading.