Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Lobster Empathy Center
In a press release (read the whole thing here), PETA says that "visitors to the center could voluntarily have their fingers rubber-banded together, and then they could walk into a dirty tank where they would be pressed up against other visitors to simulate conditions for lobsters in supermarket tanks. The exhibit would even include a giant lobster-trap mockup and a restaurant serving delicious plant-based faux lobster."
PETA's claim is that lobsters have sophisticated nervous systems and experience pain and suffering, thus making the boiling or steaming a not so pleasant experience, however tasty the result.
President of PETA, Ingrid E. Newkirk, says, "Mainers have been dragging lobsters from their ocean homes for generations — it's time for them to learn that these fascinating animals deserve more than being treated as mere commodities...Incarcerating lobsters in filthy tanks and sentencing them to death by boiling is every bit as unacceptable as abusing cats, dogs, or other animals."
Judge for yourself what it might be like to be stuck inside a lobster trap here.
Posted on Tuesday, June 3, 2008 in Permalink
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Reader Comments:
Does Ingrid realize that a red lobster is a cooked lobster. The lobster in the picture is dead! PETA killed a lobster to take a picture. I suppose Ingrid will just throw the lobster out instead of eating it. What a shame 'cause loster is yummy. Oh, yeah - the starfish has been murdered, too.
When will the criminals that call them self's PETA be stopped?
could PETA have this empathy center any farther from the coast! maybe they could have rented a potato shed up in the county or is that next years event.well hopefully after lobster season they will turn the center into a people empathy center so we can stay warm this winter.and it would be great if they fed us warm and tasty lobster stew.
PITA excesses aside, kind hearted lobster lovers should know that placing the crustacean in a lukewarm pot of water and turning up the water gradually produces a perfectly cooked lobster with no thrashing or signs of distress. They just seem to go to sleep.