PETA plans billboard to honor 10 cows killed in crash on I-75

There may soon be a billboard erected in Cobb County to memorialize the 10 cows that died when a tractor-trailer hauling the cattle overturned on I-75, snarling traffic for several hours.

The billboard, which the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals officials say is in the works, comes with a message: “I’m ME, Not MEAT. See the Individual. Go Vegan.”

PETA plans to erect the sign on I-75 near the Wade Green Road exit. It was not clear Friday when the sign would make its debut.

“Ten gentle cows died in this wreck, and those who survived were rounded up and taken to an auction before likely being strung upside down and slaughtered,” PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman said in a news release. “PETA hopes to pay tribute to their too-short lives with a billboard urging motorists to prevent future suffering by keeping cows and all other animals off their plates.”

The cows were among 19 being transported through Cobb County last week when the driver of the tractor-trailer drifted into another lane and overcorrected, sending the rig into a sound barrier at the end of a guard rail. The truck overturned, killing 10 cows and liberating the others.

Those that survived roamed the freeway until emergency crews could corral them on the side of the road to await transport.

They were then taken to a sales pen in North Georgia, Channel 2 Action News reported.

Interstate 75 South was shut down at Ga. 92 in the process and traffic was diverted off the interstate, complicating the morning commute for drivers in Bartow, Cherokee and north Cobb counties. At times, backups stretched for miles, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

One of the cows was unaccounted for May 17, and Georgia Department of Agriculture officials said it could be grazing in the area. There have been no rogue cow sightings reported since.

COURTESY OF PETA