An animal rights group is proposing a solution to closing the state’s two ferries, including the oldest continually operating ferry in the United States. They are offering to pay to post ads that ask anyone who crosses the river on the boat to go vegan.
When Gov. Dannel Malloy submitted his “Plan B” budget to the Legislature on Friday, it included plans to close the the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry, which has been in operation since 1655, and the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry, which has been in operation since 1769, to save more than $473,000.
Within days, residents held meetings to discuss ways to save the ferry and plans emerged to sue the state to keep it open.
On Wednesday, PETA offered the unique suggestion that it said would keep the ferries afloat and help farm animals.
“PETA would be happy to run the first ad, which would read, "Throw Animals a Lifeline: Go Vegan," Tracy Reiman, executive vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wrote in a letter to Gov. Dannel Malloy and James Redeker, acting commissioner of the state Department of Transportation.
Redeker said that the ads would help the ferries and “DOT can help to bail us out of our health crisis and rescue animals from a sinking ship. … We hope our ad will remind rivergoers that, when it comes to joy and suffering, we're all in the same boat.”
