Protect Farmed Animals on Our Roads

Chickens escaped onto an interstate ramp after a crash in Oklahoma City—and Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers responded by shooting them. Not rescuing them. Not calling in animal handlers. Not securing them safely until help arrived. They opened fire on terrified animals who were already traumatized, already suffering, already running for their lives. That’s not “public safety.” That’s violence—and it shows exactly how disposable farmed animals are treated in this country.

These animals didn’t choose any of this. They didn’t choose to be packed into a transport trailer. They didn’t choose the crash. They didn’t choose to be dumped onto an exit ramp, panicked and exposed. But the state did choose what happened next—and it chose bullets instead of basic compassion.

This wasn’t “necessary.” It was a brutal reminder of how farmed animals are treated in America: like cargo. Like clutter. Like a problem to erase. Industrial meat production runs on this mindset—animals crammed into miserable conditions, bred for maximum output, and treated as disposable when anything goes wrong. And when the system literally crashes, the cruelty doesn’t stop. It escalates.

Farmed animals are living beings. They feel fear. They suffer. They deserve care—not execution on the side of the road.

That’s why we’re demanding immediate action:

1) Require humane emergency protocols for crashes involving farmed animals—nonlethal containment, veterinary support, and coordination with qualified animal rescue groups.

2) Train law enforcement and first responders in safe, ethical handling of escaped animals.

3) Investigate and publicly review the decision to shoot these chickens, and ensure it never happens again.

4) Overhaul the animal agriculture system that treats life as disposable from hatchery to highway.

A crash shouldn’t become a death sentence. Sign now to demand humane standards—and an end to the cruelty that made this “solution” seem acceptable.

The petition reads: We urge the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and Oklahoma lawmakers to adopt clear, mandatory humane response standards for crashes involving farmed animals—prioritizing nonlethal containment, coordination with trained animal handlers and rescues, and immediate veterinary care. We also demand a full public review of this incident and concrete accountability measures to ensure law enforcement never treats terrified animals as disposable “cleanup” again.