PETA plans to install a billboard in memory of the chickens killed in a truck fire last week on the Staten Island Expressway in a bid to convince drivers to go vegan, the animal rights organization announced Monday.
The truck carrying chickens in crates caught fire Thursday morning during rush hour and an unknown number of the animals died in the blaze.
To honor the chickens who lost their lives, PETA, along with Humane Long Island, wants to put a billboard up that states, “In memory of the chickens killed nearby in a fire.”
The rest of the proposed billboard would state, “If everyone were vegan, it wouldn’t have happened” with a graphic of a chicken.
PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a statement the chickens died in “terror and agony” from the flames and smoke. She said the “easy step of going vegan” would prevent further suffering.
Amber Canavan, manager of campaigns at PETA, told The Post Monday the organization will be looking for available billboard or outdoor advertising space as close to the truck fire site as soon as possible.
She said deadly incidents on transport trucks involving animals – cows, pigs, fish, chickens — are “very common.”
“Instead of people just saying ‘oh that’s sad’ and moving along their day to stop for a second and think about why those animals are on that truck in the first place and what we can do to prevent it, which is quite simple and eat some vegan chicken nuggets,” she said.
PETA’s use of billboards is not uncommon.
The organization in the past has put up billboards honoring cows killed in truck crashes, including in Florida, Michigan and Texas. The signs state “I’m ME, Not MEAT; See the Individual. Go Vegan.”
Thursday’s truck fire began around 6:40 a.m. on the Staten Island Expressway near Western Avenue with firefighters with the FDNY putting out the flames within an hour. Some of the chickens that survived the fire were seen running loose, the Staten Island Advance reported last week.
Canavan said it’s unconfirmed how many chickens were on the truck, but she estimates from similar scenarios the animals loaded in were more than a thousand. PETA, in conferring with Humane Long Island, believes none of the chickens landed in a sanctuary and likely made it to wherever their final destination was, she said.
One GOP lawmaker on the city council scoffed at the billboard plan.
“Who even is the audience for this ad?” City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli, who represents Staten Island, told The Post in a text message. “Do they think a goose is going to fly by and think ‘thank you, it means a lot?’”
PETA says for every person who goes vegan, about 200 animals are saved each year.
