Cows’ Deaths in Truck Crash Prompt PETA Highway Memorial

For Immediate Release:
July 24, 2024

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

To memorialize the cows who were killed when the truck carrying them overturned while approaching a roundabout on U.S. Highway 61 and Wisconsin Highway 81 on Saturday afternoon, PETA plans to place a billboard in their honor near the site, reminding everyone that the crash victims were thinking, feeling individuals.

“At least three cows died in terror and agony because of this crash, and the traumatized survivors deserve far better than for workers to slit their throats and carve up their bodies for meat,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges everyone to help keep cows out of trucks and slaughterhouses in the first place by going vegan.”

In 2024 alone, there have been at least 34 documented animal-transport truck crashes and fires. Each year, millions of cows are trucked to slaughterhouses, where workers shoot them in the head with a captive-bolt gun, hang them up by one leg, and cut their throat—often while they’re still conscious. Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year, dramatically shrinks their carbon footprint, and reduces their risk of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.