We’ve all come to accept that car accidents are a fact of life. What we never think about is the high rate of accidents involving transport trucks carrying animals to the slaughterhouse.
Here are just some of the accidents that happened in July:
1. Ten cows died in a highway crash in Indiana.
On July 11, a truck transporting 38 cows overturned on I-69 in Indiana, resulting in the deaths of 10 cows. Undoubtedly frightened, the cows were trapped for hours in the trailer. Although most survived, some cows were injured so badly they were shot at the scene.
2. Dozens of cows were killed when the truck transporting them hit a train.
A truck transporting 67 cows struck an Amtrack train on July 27 in Kansas, when the truck driver failed to yield at a railway crossing. Three train passengers were injured, and 50 of the 67 cows were killed in the crash.
3. Several cows were loose along a highway after a transport trailer caught fire.
In Pennsylvania, a tractor trailer on Route 283 caught fire, setting many cows loose through the area. An undisclosed number of cows died at the scene. More than four hours after the crash, several cows had still not been caught.
4. Pigs were trapped under an electrical wire after a rollover crash.
At least 10 pigs died in Watertown, New York, when a transport truck rolled on its side. Of the 83 pigs on the truck, many temporarily escaped when the truck fell. Others died from injuries. Still others were trapped inside the trailer until a high-pressure power line on top of the truck could be removed.
5. A transport truck caught fire, leaving pigs to run loose on a busy Texas highway.
A trailer carrying pigs bound for slaughter rolled on its side on a Texas highway, eventually catching fire. Visibly injured, the pigs ran loose on the highway while police worked to round them up. Several pigs died in the crash.
6. Thousands of chickens blocked an Austrian highway after a crash.
In Austria, a truck driver carrying more than 7,500 hens fell asleep and drove into a highway bridge pillar. After years of laying eggs, the hens were being taken to slaughter. Hundreds of hens escaped and ran around the highway until the more than 120 firefighters could catch them. Many hens were killed in the accident.
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These are just some of the reported accidents involving animals being transported to slaughter. Not all incidents are reported, and often the number of animals killed or injured in the crashes remains unknown
The best way to prevent incidents like these and protect animals from abuse and death is to keep them off your plate.