PETA wants to commemorate a roadside crash site to honor “the hundreds of terrified turkeys who died here in a truck crash,” the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Utah state transportation officials have denied the request.
The animal rights group had sought approval for a memorial sign -- which would also urge passersby to “try vegan” -- at the accident, but the Utah Department of Transportation rejected the request Friday in a letter to PETA activist Amy Meyer, of Salt Lake City.
[pullquote]
"This request does not meet the policy standards for roadside memorial signs and UDOT will not make an exception to the policy in this case," regional director TeriAnne Newell wrote, according to KSL.com.
UDOT policy allows roadside memorials to accident victims that provide an opportunity for families and friends to express their grief while not interfering with motorist safety and the department’s operations.
The agency also has to have a written agreement with the victim’s family.
According to KSL.com, Meyer in her request asked UDOT to make an exception to that rule because turkeys in a factory-farming industry have no living relatives.
The crash took place April 24 when a semi-trailer carrying about 700 live turkeys was heading down Provo Canyon on Route 189 and clipped a guard rail. The truck crashed into the Deer Creek Reservoir, killing many of the turkeys on board.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
