One of the biggest seafood festivals in America is the target of a lawsuit from the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which calls the event a horrifying display of brutality.
PETA filed a complaint against the Maine Lobster Festival and the city of Rockland, where the yearly event has been held for almost 80 years, in Maine’s Knox County Superior Court on July 24. According to the festival website, some 20,000 pounds of lobster are prepared annually, and the lawsuit alleges widespread animal cruelty related to the festival’s custom of boiling thousands of lobsters alive.
The group contends that this method, which is based on severe animal suffering, is a public nuisance. PETA is suing for a permanent court order that would prohibit live lobsters from being steamed on public property.
PETA Labels Festival Practices as Cruelty
A Maine rule that requires that sentient animals be killed by means that guarantee instantaneous death is allegedly broken by boiling some 16,000 lobsters alive, according to the lawsuit. According to PETA, chilling lobsters before steaming them does not render them unconscious; rather, it momentarily impairs their ability to move, which does not stop their agony.
Additionally, according to the complaint, there is increasing scientific agreement that lobsters are sentient and have the capacity for pain. Therefore, PETA argues that boiling them alive violates state law and interferes with the public’s enjoyment of Harbor Park, the site of the festival.
Asher Smith, Director of Litigation at the PETA Foundation, told USA TODAY that the Maine Lobster Festival is essentially converting public space into a forum for cruelty that is promoted by municipalities by brazenly cooking thousands of thinking, feeling animals alive.PETA is working to put an end to these horrifying exhibits and provide caring Rockland people the opportunity to enjoy Harbor Park all year round.
Festival Defends Its Cooking Practices
In a statement given to the Penobscot Bay Pilot, the organizers responded by defending their practices and highlighting how they adhere to both culinary tradition and regulatory requirements.
According to the statement, the techniques we employ to cook lobster at the festival adhere to generally recognized and lawful culinary customs that have been used for many generations in homes, eateries, and seafood festivals all around the world. To yet, boiling or steaming lobsters has not been deemed a violation of Maine’s animal welfare standards, nor does the state’s legislation forbid the traditional preparation of lobster.
The assertion that lobsters are unquestionably conscious was also refuted by festival organizers. Noting that Maine law does not recognize lobsters as sentient beings protected by cruelty regulations, they contended that there is no definitive scientific consensus that lobsters feel pain in a manner similar to mammals, even if some research suggests that they might.
The organizers responded to PETA’s allegation of public disturbance by saying: As far as we are aware, no local people have complained about this problem. There are lots of other sights to see during our event, and nobody is obligated to watch or take part in the lobster cooking process.
The dates of this year’s Maine Lobster Festival are set for Wednesday, July 30, through Sunday, April 3.
