A national animal rights organization has responded to a local Saline County incident.

Earlier this week a truck hauling cattle crashed in rural Saline County. On Tuesday afternoon a semi hauling 65 head of cattle crashed in a ditch southeast of Salina. As the driver reached  for something a couple of wheels dropped off the road, the load shifted, and the truck and trailer rolled onto its side into a ditch.

A half-dozen head of cattle were killed in the crash. The driver was not hurt in the crash.

On Thursday the Farm Sanctuary organization reached out to KSAL News. Farm Sanctuary is an organization founded in 1986 to “combat the abuses of factory farming and encourage a new awareness and understanding about farm animals.”

In a statement co-founder and president Gene Baur told KSAL News:

“We were saddened to hear about the cows who were injured and killed in the truck crash in Saline County on Tuesday. Cattle and other farm animals endure intolerable cruelty every day in factory farms, slaughterhouses and in transit, and their abuse is largely hidden from public view. Science shows that these animals — just like us, and just like the companion animals we love and protect — feel fear and pain. According to USDA, more than 32 million cattle are slaughtered for beef in the United States every year. If you’d like to help reduce accidents like these and prevent animal cruelty, please consider joining the approximately 30 million Americans who are decreasing or eliminating their consumption of meat and other animal products.”

Farm Sanctuary operates three animal shelters across the country including one in Upstate New York, one in Southern California, and one in Northern California.