PETA Sues Maine Lobster Festival

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sues Maine Lobster Festival.

The Maine Lobster Festival kicks off this week in Rockland, Maine, but not everyone is happy about it.

The animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently filed a lawsuit against the Maine Lobster Festival and the City of Rockland in Knox County Superior Court over what they say is the event’s “egregiously cruel method of steaming thousands of lobsters alive.”

PETA officials said the steaming of lobsters is a violation of Maine law prohibiting the torture and torment of animals.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare the festival a public nuisance—given that it occupies Harbor Park each year and makes “an unavoidable spectacle out of cruelty to animals.” The lawsuit asks the court to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting the steaming of live lobsters on public lands.

PETA’s lawsuit claims scientific studies show that lobsters are sentient beings and therefore entitled to protection under Maine law, which requires that any method used to kill a “sentient creature” must cause “instantaneous death.”

PETA officials said that lobsters explore their surroundings, remember other individual lobsters, and use complex signals to establish social relationships. They said research shows that lobsters possess sophisticated nervous systems made up of ganglia spread throughout their bodies, and their deaths can be prolonged and agonizing.

The filing notes that chilling lobsters prior to steaming them only temporarily inhibits the lobster’s motor function, fails to render them unconscious, and ultimately prolongs their suffering as they’re slowly cooked alive.

The lawsuit asserts that the festival prevents members of the public from accessing and enjoying Harbor Park, the shoreline, and other nearby areas owned and controlled by the city without being forced to witness “extreme animal suffering” as approximately 16,000 live lobsters are “illegally tormented and killed” at the festival each year.

“By openly cooking thousands of thinking, feeling animals alive, the Maine Lobster Festival is effectively turning public land into a venue for municipally supported cruelty,” said PETA Foundation Director of Litigation Asher Smith. “PETA is pushing to end these horrific displays and restore compassionate Rockland residents’ ability to enjoy Harbor Park year-round.”

The Maine Lobster Festival is scheduled to take place in Rockland from Wednesday, July 30 to Sunday, August 3. Admission is free.