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 26, 2016

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

In the wake of an accident on Thursday in which a truck carrying pigs to slaughter overturned just south of Blair—reportedly killing 33 pigs—PETA sent a letter today to the Nebraska Department of Roads 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.”

Thursday’s accident—which occurred at the roundabout on U.S. 30—comes after a similar tractor-trailer accident in Blair killed five pigs on the way to Hormel in September 2015.

“Multiple crashes in the same town have left pigs dead on an already terrifying trip to the slaughterhouse, all for some people’s fleeting taste of bacon,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA hopes this roadside memorial will encourage 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 factory 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 Nebraska Department of Roads is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.