NORFOLK, Va. — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is calling on prosecutors to file charges after a June truck fire that they say killed 1,000 chickens at a Nebraska Costco supplier.
According to a PETA news release, PETA officials obtained U.S. Department of Agriculture documents showing that the chickens were killed in a truck fire on June 17 at Lincoln Premium Poultry (LPP) in Fremont, Nebraska. The blaze engulfed a chicken transport truck containing 6,000 birds, according to the news release.
“…1,000 died and were completely burnt, and another 1,500 were injured in the 50-minute fire,” the news release stated.
According to the documents, the truck caught fire after the rear wheels exploded.
LPP management blamed the fire on overheated brakes, according to PETA, and an LPP whistleblower told PETA that they suspected the truck driver had left the emergency brake on.
“LPP staff broke the necks of chickens who had escaped from the burning trailer and killed all other survivors by gassing them with carbon dioxide over the course of nearly four hours,” the PETA news release stated. “PETA is calling on the Dodge County Attorney’s Office to charge those responsible under state law, because federal officials haven’t prosecuted any inspected slaughterhouses for acts such as those at LPP since at least 2007.”
PETA notes that chickens “can recall the faces and social order of more than 100 other birds (and) should never be subjected to the cramped, extreme conditions of transport trucks, helpless to escape when their lives are so obviously in danger.”
“The best way you can help reduce this kind of senseless suffering is by going vegan, which saves nearly 200 lives a year. Being vegan means you won’t participate in funding the industries that torment animals as LPP does — all with little to no oversight,” the news release stated.
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Going vegan would result in the extinction of most farm animals. They generally don’t make good apartment pets.