BLACKFOOT, Idaho (AP) — An animal rights group is planning to place a billboard near the site of a highway crash that killed three cows and injured a man in southeast Idaho.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced on Tuesday its plans for a billboard on Interstate 15 near Blackfoot. The billboard's location will be near the site where state police said a semitrailer transporting 87 cows overturned last week, the Idaho State Journal reported .
The group plans for the billboard to feature a picture of a dairy cow with the text, "I'm me, not meat." The billboard will also recommend for people to choose a vegan lifestyle, abstaining from the consumption of animal products.
The billboard aims to bring attention to the plight of cows bound for slaughterhouses, said Tracy Reiman, executive vice president of PETA.
"At least three gentle cows died after this semi overturned on the median, and those who survived the terrifying crash were likely forced to face the slaughterhouse blade," Reiman said. "PETA's billboard urges motorists to prevent such needless deaths by keeping cows and all other animals off their plates."
The wreck happened after the semitrailer veered into the median to avoid a collision, police said. After the trailer overturned, many of the cows escaped and were recovered from the roadway and nearby fields.
The driver was taken to a local hospital and treated for minor injuries, authorities said.
In response to the billboard plans, Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland said that while he does care about cattle, he cares more about the people killed and injured on the interstate.