A new billboard on display in Cobb County seeks to memorialize 10 cows killed on I-75 last month when a tractor-trailer hauling the cattle overturned.
Officials with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the sign, which reads “I’m ME, Not MEAT. See the Individual. Go Vegan,” is intended to make something of their deaths.
MORE: PETA plans billboard to honor 10 cows killed in I-75 crash
"If this message of compassion inspires just one driver to go vegan, the 10 gentle cows who were killed won't have died in vain," PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman said Wednesday in a statement. "PETA's billboard pays tribute to their too-short lives and encourages motorists to help prevent future suffering by keeping cows and all other animals off their plates."
The cows were among 19 being transported through Cobb County May 17 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 guardrail. The truck overturned, killing 10 cows and liberating the others.
RELATED: 10 cows killed in crash that closed I-75 for hours
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.
The crash closed I-75 North and snarled Atlanta traffic for hours during the morning commute.
Just a few weeks later, another cattle hauler tipped over on the I-285 South ramp to I-20 East in DeKalb County. The June 8 wreck killed three cows and trapped dozens others, blocking the interchange and complicating yet another metro Atlanta morning commute.
MORE: Tractor-trailer crash kills 3 cows, blocks I-285 ramp for hours
A total of 36 cows were on the truck headed for Augusta when it overturned attempting to navigate the curve of the ramp. The surviving cows continued to their destination after they were safely removed from the overturned truck by workers with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
A spokeswoman for PETA said the organization also took note of the DeKalb County crash while making plans for the billboard’s debut.
It sits near Allgood Road in Marietta and will promote PETA’s message through July 15.
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