(CNN) – PETA wants to make sure a bunch of lobsters killed in a vehicle wreck last week in Maine will not be forgotten.
The animal rights group, formally known as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, sent a letter to the Maine Department of Transportation asking for permission to install a 5-foot tombstone for the deceased crustaceans along the side of the road.
That’s where a local seafood distributor’s truck — loaded with about 70 crates of lobsters — overturned, CNN affiliate WGME reports.
The requested memorial would feature a picture of a lobster with the words “In Memory of the lobsters who suffered and died at this spot, August 2018.” It would also urge people to “Try Vegan.”
“Countless sensitive crustaceans experienced an agonizing death when this truck rolled over and their bodies came crashing down onto the highway,” PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a statement. “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.”
On Thursday, the state Department of Transportation turned down PETA’s request. In a letter to PETA, Jim Billings, the department’s chief counsel, said development and signs of all types are prohibited along controlled-access highways such as US 1.
