Melissa Hollis and her 25-year-old daughter were travelling home from work last Thursday afternoon when, as they merged onto the motorway from Memorial Drive, they were greeted by the gruesome load.

As they gave way to a flatbed truck loaded with piles of empty pallets, Ms Hollis said she was stunned to see a large stack of animal skins, many still fresh with blood, piled at the rear of the vehicle in plain view.

"When the truck passed I said, 'Don't look, don't look'," Ms Hollis said.

"At first [my daughter] thought it was carpet but when we got closer we could see blood and the skins of the animals, and it looked like layers and layers and layers, the tails were actually flapping and the fur was flapping.

"I'm 46 and I've never seen anything like it in my life - it was really barbaric, actually."

Passing through the area just after 3.30pm, the truck would have been a confronting sight for young children, Ms Hollis said.

The truck had no identifying signage but the Cordeaux Heights woman, who was seated in the front passenger seat, was able to snap a few pictures on her phone.

When the pair arrived home, Ms Hollis immediately reported the incident to police, who identified the items as sheep and goat skins.

While it might not be an offence to transport uncovered animal skins, Ms Hollis said she believed such gory sights should be shielded from public view.

"There should be some sort of law against it, "she said.

"We felt, too, that out of respect for the animals that have just been slaughtered, they could have just put a tarp over it."

When told of his wife and daughter's experience, Ross Waller said he was stunned.

"If I have to strap down a load of leaves and branches out of regard to other road users and the public, I can't see why the same shouldn't apply to a pack of skins," he said.

"I understand maybe if you were out the back of Bourke somewhere on some little country road, but this is like the wild west of the American frontier days."