Roadside Memorial Sought for Pigs Killed in Tractor-Trailer Crash

PETA Hopes to Save Lives by Encouraging Drivers to Travel Safely and Choose Vegan Meals

For Immediate Release:
October 24, 2016

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

In the wake of an accident on Monday in which a truck carrying pigs to slaughter overturned on Interstate 15—reportedly leaving bloodied, twitching pigs dead and dying along the roadway, to the horror of passersby—PETA sent a letter today to the Arizona Department of Transportation asking for approval to erect a tombstone memorial at the scene.

The tribute would feature an image of a pig next to these words: “In Memory of the Pigs Who Suffered and Died at This Spot. October 2016. Try Vegan.”

“These pigs were already in the midst of a terrifying trip to the slaughterhouse when they were left bleeding, suffering, and dying on the side of the highway, all for someone’s fleeting taste of bacon,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA hopes this roadside memorial will encourage all travelers to give a thought to the suffering that these smart, sensitive animals endure and choose vegan meals.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that before pigs are loaded onto trucks bound for slaughterhouses, they suffer immensely on industrialized meat farms. Sows are squeezed into narrow metal stalls barely larger than their bodies and kept almost constantly pregnant or nursing. Pigs’ tails are chopped off, their teeth are cut with pliers, and males are castrated—all without any painkillers. At slaughterhouses, they are hung upside down and bled to death, often while still conscious.

PETA’s letter to the Arizona Department of Transportation is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.