PETA Requests Roadside Memorial After Turkeys Die in Crash

For Immediate Release:

12 December 2017

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 222; [email protected]

PETA REQUESTS ROADSIDE MEMORIAL AFTER TURKEYS DIE IN CRASH

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

Wychbold, Worcestershire – Following last week’s accident in which a trailer carrying turkeys overturned near junction 5 of the M5 with the A38 at Wychbold, causing the terrified birds immense suffering and killing a number of them, PETA sent a letter to Worcestershire County Council Leader Simon Geraghty asking for approval to erect a tombstone memorial at the scene.

The tribute (photo available here) would feature an image of a turkey next to these words: “In Memory of the Turkeys Who Suffered and Died in a Trailer Accident at This Spot: Try Vegan.” It would remind all drivers, including those with animals on board, to slow down and travel safely – while also pointing out that everyone can prevent abattoir-bound vehicles from travelling along the motorway by choosing vegan meals.

Photos taken at the scene of the crash are available here, here, and here (credit: Surge).

“For nothing more than a Christmas dinner, this crash left animals suffering on an already-terrifying trip to the abattoir,” says PETA Campaigns Strategist Luke Steele. “PETA’s roadside memorial can prevent further tragedies, including human ones, by reminding people to drive with care and spare a thought for animals by no longer eating them.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – notes that in nature, turkeys are protective and loving parents as well as spirited explorers who can climb trees and run as fast as 25 miles per hour. In the wild, they can live for up to 10 years, but those killed for food are normally slaughtered at between 12 and 26 weeks of age. The young birds are often hung from metal shackles by their feet and dragged through an electrified bath that can cause full-body tremors. Some are still conscious when their throats are slit and they’re placed into scalding-hot water to remove their feathers.

PETA’s letter is available on request. For more information please visit PETA.org.uk.

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