EPHRAIM– A truck carrying turkeys overturned five miles north of Ephraim on April 28, 2021 at approximately 1:20 a.m. and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is asking for a criminal investigation.
According to the Utah Highway Patrol report, a black Kenworth semi with a trailer was traveling northbound on US-89, turning left onto SR-132. The truck was loaded with turkeys and headed for the Pitman Farms slaughterhouse in Moroni. As the semi made the turn, the truck and trailer tipped on its right side and slid onto the shoulder of the roadway, where it hit a delineator post.
PETA obtained a U.S. Department of Agriculture report that just became publicly available, revealing that workers at the Pitman Farms, Inc., slaughterhouse outside Moroni left turkeys that had been severely injured in the crash to languish inside the vehicle for hours.
On Jan. 19 the animal rights group said they sent a letter to Sanpete County Attorney Kevin L. Daniels requesting a criminal probe and appropriate cruelty-to-animals charges.
According to the federal report, the truck carrying the turkeys overturned, crushing the caged birds, and arrived at Pitman Farms approximately five hours later. Yet workers there didn’t finish unloading the truck until around 11:30 a.m., meaning that injured turkeys weren’t put out of their misery until up to five hours after arriving at the slaughterhouse and more than ten hours after the wreck.
Despite at least one similar incident that previously occurred at Pitman Farms, the inspector noted that the slaughterhouse “did not have a plan in place to address the injured birds promptly.”
“If anyone left severely injured dogs to languish in agony for hours, they would face multiple charges of cruelty to animals, and turkeys suffer the same way and are also protected by law,” said PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA is calling for a criminal investigation into the horrific fates of these turkeys, who feel pain and fear every bit as much as the animals we share our homes with.”
According to Daniels, he did receive an email from the animal rights group on Jan 19.
“I referred them to the Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office because I am not capable of doing an investigation,” Daniels said.
Once the sheriff’s office investigates the accident and if they decide to press charges, then Daniels said he will take a look at it.
