Police say a transport truck carrying chickens that rolled over on an east Hamilton roadway slowed traffic for hours on Friday morning.
The incident happened around 8 a.m. at Rymal Road East and Terryberry Road when the vehicle attempted to make a turn.
“The truck was maneuvering a turn on the roadway when two tires popped, which caused the truck to roll over,” Hamilton police spokesperson Jackie Penman told Global News in an email.
“All the chickens remained in their cages and the company was onsite to help move the animals from one truck to another.”
The crash tore off the top of the trailer and deposited some plastic chicken crates on to the roadway.
No people were hurt, however, it’s unclear if any of the birds were injured or killed.
It’s the second time in 10 days a large truck carrying chickens has rolled and dropped birdcages onto a roadway.
On Aug. 9 OPP said a crash involving a tractor-trailer closed three westbound lanes along Highway 403 around 5 a.m. at Third Line.
Investigators believe speed may have been a factor when the truck was “ramping on” from Third Line to the 403.
Police say part of that delay was also due to the transferring of chickens to new trucks at the scene.
Both incidents have caught the eye of an animal rights group that is demanding further investigation, alleging chickens likely died on the way to a slaughterhouse.
“Animal Justice is calling on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to launch an urgent review of the safety of animals during transport in Canada,” lawyer Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice, told Global News in an email.
“Truck rollovers and other crashes are happening at an alarming rate, leaving thousands of animals to suffer and die. This situation is unacceptable.”
Hamilton police did not reveal the owners of the chickens or the truck in an incident report sent to Global News.