liberating George

PeTA has rescued a 140 year old lobster nicknamed George from human consumption

Seafood Restaurant Agrees to Release 'George' Back Into the Sea

For Immediate Release:
January 10, 2009

Contact:
Ashley Byrne 757-622-7382

Kennebunkport, Maine -- Just three days ago, the prospect that a 140-year-old, 20-pound lobster confined to a tank inside a New York seafood restaurant would ever see his ocean home again were bleak at best. But after initially denying PETA's request to release the ancient crustacean, the folks at Manhattan's City Crab and Seafood had a change of heart and agreed to let PETA return the lucky lobster to Kennebunkport, where he will be released back into the sea today. PETA invites the media to cover the lobster's release:

Date: Saturday, January 10
Time: 10:15 a.m.
Place: The pier on Ocean Avenue, between Pearl Street and Green Street, Kennebunkport, Maine

According to Dr. Jaren G. Horsley, an invertebrate zoologist, lobsters have a "sophisticated nervous system" and feel "a great deal of pain" when cut or cooked alive. And because lobsters do not enter a state of shock when they are hurt, they feel every moment of their slow, painful deaths when cooked in a kettle of boiling water. Scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., have found that lobsters use complicated signals to establish social relationships and take long-distance seasonal journeys, often traveling more than 100 miles in a year.

"We are thrilled to be able to let lobster George, who has avoided being trapped since the Civil War, to live out his days in freedom and peace," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "We hope that City Crab and Seafood's kind gesture serves as an example that these intriguing animals don't deserve to be kept in tiny tanks or boiled alive.

PeTA blog

In this photo released by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, "George," a live 20 pound lobster rests on a plate at City Crab and Seafood in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009. City Crab and Seafood has spared the lobster, which is expected to be released Saturday, Jan. 10, near Kennebunkport, Maine, in an area where lobster trapping is forbidden. PETA and the restaurant gauged George's age at about 140, using a rule of thumb based on the creature's weight. (AP Photo/P.E.T.A.)Reported by CNN, Associated Press and other media outlets.

Good for George. Just like all other living creatures, if it has lived for this long, it deserves to continue doing so.

In the meantime, I found some great recipes for lobster - here and here.

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A day at home today, but a shame it was so warm.