Pinky Cole, the founder of the Slutty Vegan restaurant chain, is getting two presents for her birthday today: a pair of rescued chickens named in her honor after an 18-wheeler transporting chickens crashed into a power pole on Wednesday in Ridge Spring, South Carolina. The chickens who weren’t killed on impact were likely loaded onto another truck headed for the slaughterhouse—but the next morning, PETA members found two survivors hiding in bushes nearby and rushed them to receive veterinary care. Once they’ve recovered, the duo—now named Pinky and Cole—will be taken to a sanctuary.

Photos of the feathered pair are available here.

“Having gone from a crowded, filthy transport truck bound for slaughter to a safe and caring sanctuary, Pinky and Cole will never be caged or killed for their body parts,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges everyone to go vegan to spare chickens terrifying deaths and to get these deadly trucks off the streets.”

The U.S. transports and slaughters nearly 10 billion chickens every year, and PETA points out that transport truck crashes like this one are shockingly common—nearly 70 animal-related accidents have occurred in 2023.

This story has a happy ending for Pinky and Cole, who will have the opportunity to engage in their natural behavior at a sanctuary—such as scratching for food, taking dust baths, roosting in trees, and sitting in the sun—but the two survivors have a long road to recovery. Both are struggling to stand and walk because the meat industry bred them to grow so large so quickly that their legs are crippled under the weight. Their chests are devoid of feathers and red with ammonia burns from being forced to sit in giant sheds filled with excrement.

Every person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals each year daily suffering and terrifying deaths and reduces their own risk of developing heart disease and cancer. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.