An animal rights group has called for a roadside memorial to be erected as a tribute to a number of chickens killed when a truck caught fire on an Adelaide highway this morning.
SA Police said a B-double truck carrying a load of chickens was heading south on the Northern Expressway about 4:00am at Andrews Farm when the driver was alerted to smoke coming from the rear trailer.
The driver pulled over and disconnected the prime mover, but police said the rear trailer caught alight and had to be extinguished by the Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS).
The driver was not injured, however, a number of chickens were killed in the fire and police said those that survived would be euthanised.
Following the incident, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia said it had rushed a letter to the state's Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI), calling for it to approve a roadside tombstone in memory of the chickens killed.
"The tribute would feature an image of a chicken next to the words 'In memory of the chickens who suffered and died at this spot. Try vegan'," PETA said.
It said the memorial would call on people to "go vegan" in a bid to prevent similar incidents from happening "by eliminating the need for chickens to make terrifying trips to abattoirs at all".
"We hope our memorial will prompt people not to eat animals or — at the absolute least — remind truck drivers to make animals' transport to slaughter as safe and comfortable as possible," PETA spokesperson Emily Rice said.
The ABC has reached out to DPTI for comment.
