BRUNSWICK, Maine — Animal rights activists with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are asking the Maine DOT for permission to put up a five-foot memorial along Route 1 in Brunswick where lobsters died in a crash a week ago.
Last Wednesday, a truck carrying about 70 crates of live lobsters overturned on the road, killing some of the crustaceans.
In PETA's letter to the Department of Transportation, activists said the memorial would urge passing drivers to "try vegan."
"Countless sensitive crustaceans experienced an agonizing death when this truck rolled over and their bodies came crashing down onto the highway," said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "PETA hopes to pay tribute to these individuals who didn't want to die with a memorial urging people to help prevent future suffering by keeping lobsters and all other animals off their plates."
PETA said in their letter that "lobsters are intelligent individuals who use complex signals to establish social relationships" and that the practice of boiling them alive without first stunning them has been banned in Switzerland.
The organization hopes that the memorial would motivate others to go vegan and "prevent such tragedies."
The letter said: "At a time when animal transport accidents are becoming more common, this memorial would be an effective way to remind truck drivers and Brunswick residents of their responsibility to fellow motorists and animals."
According to PETA, "the memorial would be placed at the edge of the right-of-way farthest from the road so that it wouldn't be distracting to drivers."