People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced they are planning to place a billboard in honor of 19,000 chickens that perished in a West End barn blaze on Thanksgiving evening.
The sign will read “If Everyone Were Vegan, It Wouldn’t Have Happened,” and will be placed near Watts Auman Farm where the blaze broke out, said PETA in a news release.
19,000 chickens died in a fire Thanksgiving evening at Watts Auman Farm in West End ~Sandhills Sentinel.
A chicken house caught on fire on the farm located at 3076 Hwy 73.
One chicken was rescued from the charred remains and seemed to be unharmed and alert and appeared to make quick friends with the firefighters. A short while later, a handful of other chickens were found alive and brought out to safety.
Everette Parsons with Eastwood Fire Department holds a surviving chicken ~Sandhills Sentinel.
An identical chicken house was untouched by the fire. The Watts Auman Farm has been in business for a number of years and is associated with Perdue Farms.
“The pain and fear that these trapped chickens must have felt as smoke and flames engulfed them is impossible to imagine,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges everyone to prevent more animals from suffering and dying by opting for delicious vegan meals.”
PETA referenced a chicken truck overturning in Moore County at the beginning of November in the news release and noted “there have been 95 crashes involving trucks carrying animals used for food this year alone.”
Seventeen days before the fire, a chicken truck overturned on Midland Road at the insection of Highway 22 in Southern Pines.
Chickens were spilled on Midland Road when a chicken truck overturned ~ Sandhills Sentinel.
The driver was attempting to travel through the new traffic circle. A truck was dispatched to pick up the surviving chickens to take them to their destination.
“Each person who goes vegan saves the lives of nearly 200 animals every year,” said PETA.
Feature photo courtesy of PETA.
