Deadly Patoka Truck Crash Prompts PETA Plea: Spare Any Surviving Cattle from Slaughter!

For Immediate Release:
April 3, 2025

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Following a truck carrying eight cattle overturning on Highway 41 north of Patoka on Tuesday, resulting in one of the cows being put down due to severe injuries, PETA today sent a letter to the Indiana Beef Cattle Association’s Executive Vice President, Brian Shuter, asking him to work with cattle hauler Patrick J. Snyder, of Ferdinand, to spare the lives of the animals who survived the horrific crash and haven’t already been sent to slaughter.

According to reports, cattle were seen “scared and running” near the crash site before being rounded up and hauled away. In its letter, PETA requests that any traumatized survivors be immediately seen by a veterinarian and sent to a reputable sanctuary instead of facing another hellish journey to slaughter.

“At the slaughterhouse, cattle who survive crashes like Tuesday’s terror are shot in the head, hung upside down, and slashed across their throats, sometimes while they’re still conscious,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA is asking for mercy on behalf of these animals, who have already suffered tremendously, and asks everyone to please go vegan and help prevent more animals from suffering a similar fate.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness and free Vegan Starter Kits for anyone thinking of making the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Shuter follows.

April 3, 2025

Brian Shuter

Executive Vice President

Indiana Beef Cattle Association

Dear Mr. Shuter:

I’m writing on behalf of PETA entities’ more than 9 million members and supporters worldwide—including many across Indiana—to ask that any of the survivors of Tuesday’s crash of a trailer hauling beef cattle on Highway 41 in Gibson County be immediately seen by a veterinarian and retired, not subjected to another terrifying ride on a trailer and a miserable death. 

According to news sources, a truck hauling the animals overturned north of Patoka. At least one of the cattle was destroyed on site in light of his or her injuries, while others were understandably “scared and running” loose before being rounded up and taken away.

If these animals haven’t already been hauled to a slaughterhouse, shot in the head, hanged upside down and slashed across their throat, we urge your organization to work with the truck driver, Patrick J. Snyder, of Ferdinand, to ensure the survivors are carefully examined and treated by a bovine veterinarian for the severe bruises, broken ribs and other injuries they surely suffered.

These animals also endured a great deal of stress and fear. Will your association please work with Snyder to send all survivors to a safe and permanent home at a reputable sanctuary for farmed animals so that they can live out the rest of their lives in peace? This would be a victory for these animals, and the public would applaud it.

These cows have captured the hearts of people in Indiana and beyond—and they are rooting for them and pleading for their safety. Thank you for your consideration of this important matter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Daniel Paden

Vice President of Legal Advocacy

Cruelty Investigations Department