OK—they may not be the cutest, they're not very cuddly, they can't play fetch, and they don't make cute noises, but when it comes to pain, suffering, and fear, should those things matter?
Right now, several bars and restaurants around the country have Lobster Zone machines in their establishments—tanks filled with lobsters who are sitting in stagnant water, barely being fed, and who are just waiting to be "won." Treated like inanimate trinkets, the "winning" lobster in this claw-game will be dropped down a metal chute, and then microwaved, boiled, or cut up while still alive and served up next to a side of butter.
Speak up for these lobsters and ask these bars to get rid of these lobster-torture machines now!
- San Pedro Fish Market in San Pedro, California
- The Beach Club in Long Beach, California
- Next Door Pub in Geneva, Wisconsin
- Palm Beach Ale House, in Palm Beach, Florida—call (561)-683-3777 and ask to speak to Jeff Prefer, the owner. Politely ask that he pull the Lobster Zone machine from his restaurant immediately.
- Walk On's, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana—call (225) 757-8010 and ask to speak to Brandon Landry, the owner. Politely ask that he pull the Lobster Zone machine from his restaurant immediately.
E-mail us at StreetTeam@peta2.com and let us know which restaurants you contacted, and we'll give you 500 points each!
Thanks for speaking up for all animals!
Stay loud!
Those poor lobsters! I'm so glad this mission was posted. What I don't undersatnd though, is if you say that your a vegetarian, people offer you fish/seafood. Are they not considered animals for whatever reason? So weird.
There used to be one of these machines in a restaurant at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. A lot of the lobsters get torn apart while in it because the claw will only grab the tail or a claw and rip it off, it's horrible.
u may say oh this is justa lobster it doesnt have feeling but they are just like u and me they go threw death they can feel pain so STOP and THINK if someone ate YOU!!!!!
I am so glad that someone has finally put something up on here about lobsters! I have stopped eating lobsters since the day that I went to red lobster and I heard this strange, high pitched sound. I asked one of the waiters what it was and they said that it was the lobsters. THey scream when they are being boiled alive! That is terrible! I have never eaten one of them or any other meat for that matter, since!
I feel so horrible for lobsters.
The way they are cooked is just cruel.
I'd like to ask the owners of those bars,
how'd you liked to boiled alive?
Anmails are god's children too. To me anyone tht eats meat is a sinner!
i hate going to places and seeing those they make me wanna cry because i feel so bad for those poor things
i almost cried when my family went to red lobster and i saw the lobsters in dirty water partically sitting on one another when my mom saw how i reacted she decided not to lobster for dinner to aviod from having me sob in the resturant
I'm simply shocked! As a Florida native born in West Palm I will deff be giving Mr. Prefer a call! Lobsters aren't some stuffed toy you can pack in a claw machine.
Omg! I tell this story all the time! About two years ago I was in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire enjoying my vacation with family when I walked into the corner store. They had a Lobster winning claw machine. I was disgusted! I put in $3.00 to win myself a lobster. First try and I had one. I then asked the store clerk if they sold buckets, I was going to let him free. She was pissed! So I walked out holding my lobster, Luis. My family and I hopped in the car and drove to an empty space with no waves, cut off Luis' claw bands and watched him make his way to freedom. I went back the following year to find the machine was gone for good! (:
mandee i love that story
It's awful that these poor creatures are treated like soft toys, lobsters have feelings.
thank you, Mandee Buracchi!
Once I bought two alive lobsters in shop to bring them free.
it is so terrible death!
please, stop it.
My mom joked to me when I was younger about buying a lobster at wal-mart from the tanks they live in then boiling them alive. It made me so angry! And disgusted…
Hey! I just realized something! They actually did get rid of the lobster tank at wal-mart! It's funny how I haven't realized it until now. I'd gladly do this activity if it weren't for the fact that my mom would question me about the phone bill. I could probably do the one in Wisconsin though, and a red lobster I live close to has one of those tank things too I could call them.
So sad! I hate killing any kind of lobster/fish. It's so mean. I hate the killing methods and just the killing in general. SOOO CRUEL!!!!!!!!
i completely agree. the way these lobsters are treated in these tanks is horrific. it ruins the table value of the lobster if its damaged or missing a claw.
when i'm sucking the meet out of freshly boiled lobster claw, i want the meat succulent, dripping with butter and not bruised by the lobster shanigans in those 'murder tanks'.
pooor lobsters
[...] your eyelashes. True compassion doesn't exclude ANY animal—whether they're cute, not-so-cute, big or small. Got it? Good! Stay [...]
I live in Maine and see lobsters everywhere (stores, the grocery store, restaurants). It's one of the saddest sights to see dozens of lobsters with their claws rubber-banded together, all piled on top of each other in the yucky water. And then the "cook" grabs one and puts it in a pot of boiling water right in front of the customers. *gags* My dad made me go to Portland's lobster festival a few weeks ago. It was horrible.:(
I'll probably call these places with my friends next time we get together. And we'll call local restaurants, too.
I feel bad for lobsters. My dad watches a lot of the Food network channel and every weekend I have to watch a live lobster be put into a microwave or pot of boiling water. The noises they make are horrible. I also see tanks of lobsters in Loblaws and feel bad for them too. I hate people who eat poor defenseless creatures.
Fort Rappids in Columbus OH is doing the same thing. I've talked to the manager and he doesn't care what I have to say. So please contact them as well. I'm trying everything I can.
4560 Hilton Corporate Drive
Columbus, OH 43232
(614) 868-1380
Here is a quote from the Lobster Zone Website:
"Lobsters do not sound an alarm when placed into boiling water. The sound that comes from the kettle is merely air passing through the lobster’s shell. Lobsters lose consciousness within seconds of contact with steam or hot water."
I almost cried when i read this. God. This was ON THEIR FUCKING WEBSITE! And yet people still buy their crap. I have never had lobster, cooked lobster, or herd a lobster whistle but this is just grotesque. And no fucking duh they lose consciousness with in seconds of hittiing the boiling hot water! People pass out when their in a lot of pain too. God. I hate people who think that such a sick tourture machine is entertainment.
Here is the email i wrote Lobster Zone's website:
Have you no heart? These Lobsters are animals! Living, feeling sentient beings. Everyday these animals are torn apart by your "entertainment." Now i know what your saying, "Oh god, another peta member complaining about the lobsters." PLEASE JUST HEAR ME OUT FOR A SECOND.
It would mean alot to me if you would read this e-mail and got back to me. Please just stop and think for a minute what these machines do to these poor animals. Athough they cant really comprehend what is going on, they know that they are not in their natural habitat and they can feel that they are in pain. I am a strong believer that all life is a miracle, therefor sacred. The fact that we are even alowed to survive on this planet is a blessing. We owe our very lives to animals. They have graced us with their existance and provided us with their services. We have consumed their flesh as sustanace to get us through freezing winters of the past. They helped us SURVIVE. And now that we no longer need their flesh as there are many other alternitaves, we should help them. It is the least we can do.
And so, humiliating these animals is not the way to go. They are not stuffed toys or plastic prizes to give away. They are alive. They are feeling. Please, I beg you! End this. You have the POWER to do so. So end their suffering. Nothing diserves to die. And certainly nothing diserves to suffer, all for a game… all to go into someone's stomach, just becaus they felt like lobster with a side of butter. Its not just a lobster, it's a life all it's own.
I'm glad to see this on the priority list of Peta. Recently, i was taken to a Red Lobster and just seeing the lobsters in a tank waiting to die left me so heartbroken. I begged my brother not to order the lobster, but i think he ended up getting a tail (though it didnt come from the lobsters in the tank) and i ended up just getting a salad. I dont think i could stand going to RL again.
People consider themself modern, and civilization has advanced, but has it? Our civilization is no better than the old colliseums of the past.
Every day cruel acts are condoned by millions as that is just the way it is done.
Lobster and cats are boiled alive, chickens and rabbits are chopped in the neck by hand, sharks have their fins cut and are dropped back into the oceans, there are actually society that think, sharks grow their fins back. Dolphins are circled and enclosed in a small area and slaughtered while they scream to stop it but to no avail.
Bulls are tortured before being let out in the ring for the final torture so people can enjoy to see that the bullfighter is supreme over beast, while the smell of blood is all throughout the arena.
Chicken fights with razors attached to their feet are put in an enclosed area where they fight until one is dead and the other is injured. Similar fight for sport is all over the world for dogs.
Dogs and Cats are eaten, have their fur ripped off, and cute displays are made out of their fur, which by the way is sold to Europe, Canada, and the U.S.
We can became active by boycutting these products because the only way to get their attention is by not providing a market for their goods. The mighty $$$ speaks louder than anything else.
People want to eat everything. I have tried to sway one friend that you don't but he said he would like to try at least once. He is not alone, we have a whole society that wants delicateses like bear paw, monkey brain while the monkey sits in the middle of the table alive, while his skull is cut open and people scoop his brain out. Rattle snakes who can not see well are rounded up and cooked in the continent of the U.S.A. each and every year. All kinds of exotic animal skin is available to the consumers to feel good about themself because they own one piece or more.
Baby Seals are slaughtered each and every year, and their pelts are send to Asia…I personally seen a 3 white whales swimming one day in the north, and the next day all 3 lay being slaughtered in Inuvik, and they say they do conservation? But no pictures please!
In my personal opinion, we have a big job ahead to change society thinking about animals to become more humane, more feeling, and civilized.
Lobsters, i hate to see when they are shown on TV being served in restaurants and shown in movies. It's really sad as to where Humanity is headed. Are we less of Humans that we can't understand the pain of those who can't speak for themselves. No doubt 'A Business Built on Pain , Will End in Pain'. I hope that they get the message loud and clear as they are the one's that need this Message the most.
Giant Eagle, a large grocery chain nearby, holds live lobsters in an OVERCROWDED tank and sells them. This is deplorable. After telling the worker behind the fish counter what I thought of the conditions of the in-store lobster tank, I went home and composed a letter; see paste below. Then I hand delivered it. If anyone else would like to "borrow" my letter and do the same (or devise another action to help lobsters in tanks), please be my guest.
Thanks!
To: _____________, Manager
(—-Address here—-)
July 4, 2010
Dear ___________,
I am writing to urgently request that Giant Eagle stop the sale of LIVE lobsters.
The other day I was shopping inside your store and noticed that the live lobsters were kept in deplorable and extremely crowded conditions. I immediately spoke to a worker behind the seafood counter about this. To me this is NOT acceptable, as I'm sure some other educated and sensitive shoppers would agree. I realize you probably didn't meant to be blatantly cruel to these creatures and were simply placing them out just as they were shipped to your store. However, I urge you to consider the matter with a respectable amount of conscience, and be open to the following education:
Lobsters do not receive "humane" consideration. They are typically cooked alive by boiling. Unattended traps result in death by starvation, dehydration, heat, or fights with other lobsters. During transportation and storage, they suffer from dehydration, red-tail bacterial disease, shell disease, and “bumper car” disease as a result of extremely crowded conditions. Rough handing of lobsters—including throwing them—causes open wounds and lesions. They also suffer from an inability to breathe properly in air, which results in acidosis and toxin buildup; conflict with other lobsters; sudden temperature changes; low water quality; and physical injuries. A Canadian study found that 19 percent of lobsters had a missing claw when they arrived at factories and packing stations. In Australia’s Western rock lobster fishery, on average 20 percent of the lobsters arrive at the factory too weak to be considered fit for live export. Mortality rates often reach 10 to 15 percent.
With clear evidence that lobsters are sentient beings who suffer, the only ethical conclusion is that every effort must be made to treat these animals "humanely". Lobsters kept in tanks (like the one in your store) suffer from stress associated with confinement, low oxygen levels, and overcrowding. Additionally, these sea animals do not have automated nervous systems to put them into a state of shock when they are harmed. Therefore, marine biologists theorize that they feel every second of pain inflicted upon them before their death. According to Dr. Jaren G. Horsley, an invertebrate zoologist at the National Zoo, lobsters have a “sophisticated nervous system” and feel “a great deal of pain” when cut or cooked alive.
Scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., who have been studying lobsters for more than 20 years, have found them to be unique and fascinating animals. They’ve found, for instance, that lobsters use complicated signals to establish social relationships. They take long-distance seasonal journeys, can travel more than 100 miles in a year, and can live to be more than 150 years old—if they survive the world’s most devastating predator: humans.
I ask you to consider this informative effort and immediately adopt a policy prohibiting the sale of LIVE animals. There are far more customers who are saddened by the sight of lobsters in a tank than there are who would buy them. Most wouldn't take the time to write a letter of protest, but do not doubt that their feelings DO influence their purchases and the amount of dollars they'll want to spend at your store. I hope to hear news that you agree with and quickly adopt this compassionate policy, rather than hear the spreading reports about the "inhumane" tanks inside Giant Eagle.
Thank you for your time and serious consideration.
Respectfully,
A concerned shopper
I WILL DEFINATELY SAVES THEM.
HOW ABOUT BOILING THE PEOPLE THAT EAT LOBSTERS????THAT'S AN IDEA!!!!!!
It is totally cruel to have lobsters sitting in a tiny tank waiting to die. We wouldn't put people in a cell for canibals and have them be picked out for death. Just because people like to animals these poor things should be being tortured.
I think that's so nasty. I just don't get how people can be so cruel to something so helpless. I have never eaten lobster or shrimp. Cuz i don't eat things that were (or in this case are) alive. It's just so WRONG!!!! I would spread the word to friends too so they can help people realize what pain and torture these animals go through. and i agree with Stephanie Reeves. Who made the animals, huh? glad there's no lobster things in walmart too.
This is horridly barbaric.There is no way I would ever go to one of these restraunts.Cruel and inhumane.
Patricia Randolfi I agree with your excellent comment YES lets boil the people who kill and eat lobsters and see how they like it!!
All cretures great and small have feelings and a right to be here!!
I absolutely hate the way some people do not show the slightest consideration for lobsters. To be boiled alive is highly painful, stressful and forces the poor creature into a slow and cruel death.
I will never set foot in a restaurant that does this to any animal, and I hope other people feel the same way!
This is such cruel, mean and totaly unfair!! None animals deserves to suffer for peoples hunger or something like that. We need to speak our mind up to save the lobster of such a bad treatening!! How about to the same things to the people, who bear such pain and cruelty to the poor lobster, what about that??
We need to save the lobsters to have them their life back. They are here to live and grow up not being eaten and bad treatened!!!!!
Together we are a unit, together we are one. We can bring those people to a falldown!! They have to let the lobsters free!!!!
I feel that no creature should go through this. But, in reality, lobsters live to eat and breed. They literally have an attention span of 12 seconds. I have more sympathy for the people eating the lobster then the lobster itself. The Mercury content of fish is higher then ever in the seas around America. I know that this is unrealistic, but , if people can just stop eating meat, everyone will be happy ( except those nasty meat packing corporations ):)
I HATE these machines so much! My dad owns a lot of these machines and is proud of it! I have been a strict vegetarian for years now, and I hate that he does this. The first time I saw one of his machines, I got a stool, and put it in front of the machine and sat in front of it so that nobody could play it. I bother him every day to stop it, and I won't stop until he gets rid of them all! I never see him, but I HATE it! They need to be set free!!!!!!!!!
Thank God for Peta and all it's volunteers out there! When my daughter was quite young, 4 years old, she clearly loved animals and nature. I homeschooled her, and she furthered her own studies of animals in the wild. We once made a pact to go buy as many lobsters in grocery store tanks and return them to the sea. Now I see this in action today, and I'm so glad. And today, my daughter is almost through college, trained in animal sciences to help them, and is active in Peta.
i love lobsters! leave them to be in the sea <3
oh my gosh i saw one of theese and came on to tell peta about it thats carazy
Lobsters are as equal of living things as we humans are, and as animal as dogs, our dear companions, are, so why should they be treated so differently? They may not have the same ability to reason as we people do, but does that mean we can freely discriminate against them and dismiss them as lifeless, human-serving objects? If this is so, then why are we so indignant about discrimination against those who have mental disabilities? Aren't THEY as helpless as animals (in this case, lobsters) are?
I've grown up in a place where lobster are big things, I've always tried to yearn my parents away from buying them hoping that the less people bought the less that would have to be caught! But I've sent letters to all those places, and a few others. This has got to end, they were put in the ocean to live there, not to be caught and won or eaten!
So, I was a vegitarian for about 8months and still ate fish, i figured it was okay until one night i sat in the living room with my mom and step-dad while they watched "Deadliest Catch", I immediately became vegan!Just the way crab,fish,lobster, and every other sea creature is caught would be torture! And then all of those self righteous people who think they're better than every living being on earth simply because of the fact that those beings cannot defend themselves take them while still living and boil them? gut them? it's the most disgusting thing ive seen. I have a life time friend who decided to cook lobster for a family occasion, he heard that if you put the lobster in tail first, you can hear them scream. He found out it was true… he called me laughing and i cried, it was horrifying to think that anyone would want to hear a lobster scream, i mean it only proves that they have feeling and they feel pain! In addition, there are lobster tanks in most grocery stores where i live and i feel like when i see small children fascinated by lobsters that they're parents should say something… Parents not saying anything about the fact that they're being held captive living only to anticipate the day they're going to be bought or won to be brought home and boiled alive… sorry kiddy's but that's the real world and it's a harsh one! This is disgusting, and everyone's argument regarding the killing, no, slaughter of any animal is "well if we didn't kill them for food they would just over populate the earth" NO! that isn't true… if people just left them alone, didn't breed them just to kill them there would be a natural balance, with everything both one land AND! in the water. People wonder why there's such a problem with extinction in the oceans? well maybe if people outlawed a lot of the things people do there, or people were courteous enough to abide by those that have been there wouldn't be a problem. I do everything i can to help stop the things that are being done and if you're not doing anything yet, i urge you to please please please! start… no one is too small to make a difference… I am only a 16 year old little girl in high school, i didn't think i could make a difference… but since I've started trying to make changes, I've noticed changed being made. By myself I have gotten vegan options at school, cruelty free cleaning at all schools, gotten the animal shelter more funding and made so many adoptions happen with an adoption day that I organized… Everyone has a voice and everyone has to speak up, it's not how loud your voice is, it's how you use it! Help the animals, Help the lobsters <3 much love xox
That is digusting! I have never eaten lobster, my mom is allergic to shellfish, and I am a vegetarian! I will never eat lobster! Ever! I think it tastes gross anyway…..
i hope one day we can all look back on this and realize how lost our culture was…and hope a change will be made soon
protect the world because this is our.
please protect it.
I know i hate it when i go to the grocery stores and i see people like: "I want that big one because the small ones aren't filling." The treat them like a piece of crud!
Poor lobsters! D:
Its so horrible! I live in San Pedro! The Fish Markets are so nasty, they smell SO bad like rotting corpses. I saw like four or five of those machines and wanted to cry. Some stupid little girl was just pounding on the glass and her parents were just staring and laughing at them!!
People can be monsters when $$ is involved