Dead Chickens Commemorated By PETA Billboard In Elgin

ADDISON, IL — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA, will be placing a commemorative billboard near the site where hundreds of chickens died from the heat earlier this month after a truck carrying them broke down on I-90.

On June 8, Addison Fire Protection District joined mechanics to help hose down the nearly 14,000 chickens being carried to a farm. That morning, temperatures were reaching the high 80s. Without all ten wheels to carry the truck, mechanic Andrew Loucks told the Chicago Tribune he had to slowly tow the vehicle back to his shop.

There, Loucks and firefighters sprayed cool water on the chickens and attempted to park them in the shade while the truck was being repaired, but almost 1,000 chickens still died.

"It's that type of s--- that makes you want to go vegetarian," Loucks said in a Chicago Tribune interview. "I just feel really, really bad."

PETA said in a news release there have been 38 crashes in the last year involving trucks carrying live animals intended to be used for food. Often, the short-term carrying conditions trucks are equipped with are used for longer cross-country trips.

"Chickens freeze to trucks' metal sides in the winter and die of heat exhaustion in the summer," said Tracy Reiman, PETA's executive vice president. "PETA's ad will encourage viewers to help prevent these gentle birds from being crammed into trucks in the first place by going vegan."

The Addison Fire Protection District and Loucks both received awards from the animal rights group for showing compassion to the animals in distress.

PETA plans to place the billboard in Elgin, near the scene of the incident, but have not specified exactly which billboard will show the group's sign that intends to say, "See the Individual. Go Vegan."