PETA request for memorial to chickens killed in lorry fire rejected

PETA has been left disappointed after its request for a roadside memorial to hundreds of chickens feared to have died in a lorry fire was rejected. The animal rights charity penned a letter calling for a memorial plaque to the birds close to the scene of the fire on the busy A12 near Kelvedon, Essex, earlier this month.

PETA shared a design of the plaque it wanted to erect which included the words: ‘In Memory of the Chickens Who Suffered and Died in a Lorry Fire on This Spot’, alongside a photo of a hen and a message of ‘try vegan’. However, the National Highways has confirmed the request has been rejected. A spokesperson said while they understand the death of livestock can be “deeply upsetting for many people”, National Highways does not permit memorial signs on safety grounds.

The spokesperson told the Express: “They [memorials] can pose a safety risk by distracting road users, and a greater safety risk to people wishing to visit the memorial.

“We would therefore not support the placing of this, or any other unsanctioned sign on the strategic road network.”

Responding to the decision, PETA vice president Elisa Allen said the birds “died in pain and terror” and “deserve to be remembered”.

She told the Colchester Gazette: "Of course, all chickens raised for food suffer intensely, whether packed into transport lorries or condemned under the slaughterhouse blade. While PETA hopes that National Highways will have a change of heart and commemorate those who lost their lives, we can all honour the countless individuals who are killed for the sake of a meal and put a stop to this avoidable cruelty by going vegan."

In the letter calling for the memorial, Ms Allen said: “Chickens are sensitive individuals, no different to the animals with whom many of us share our homes and admire from afar. They have memories to rival elephants’, enjoy complex communication like parrots, are playful like puppies, and, most importantly, they feel joy, fear and pain, just like we do.”

The lorry carrying the chickens caught fire on October 9 and took more than an hour to extinguish.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said its crews and police colleagues “ensured the welfare of the birds remained a priority”.

The incident saw the A12 closed in both directions, causing long delays for motorists. PETA has previously called for memorials to livestock that have died on UK roads.