Never try to outdo the animal-rights clique when it comes to creating a media spectacle.
To wit, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which went to court last week to try to stop the Maine Lobster Festival, now has a new grisly tack.
“On opening day of the Maine Lobster Festival – where thousands of sentient lobsters will be cooked alive in violation of Maine cruelty-to-animals law which prohibits tormenting sentient animals – PETA supporters will gather for an eye-popping demonstration in which a chef will drag a struggling, screaming human “lobster” to a giant, steaming pot and “scald” them alive, asking people to recall the Golden Rule of ‘do unto others what you would have them do unto you,” PETA announced Monday.
The action comes on the heels of PETA’s lawsuit filed July 24 demanding that Rockland end the “cruel and illegal practice of steaming live lobsters on public land.”
[RELATED: ‘Steaming Mad:’ PETA Sues to Shut Down World’s Largest Lobster Cooker at Maine Festival]
“Lobsters feel pain and terror, and to pretend otherwise is a convenient way to avoid facing the fact that cooking them while they’re conscious is the same for them as it is for any human being,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges everyone to consider who is on their plates and please, choose vegan.”
Festival officials have defended their lobster steamer – the world’s largest by the way – insisting that PETA’s claims aren’t cracked up (sorry) to what they claim.
Nonetheless, PETA is going forward with its lobster die-in, set for noon July 30 at the corner of Main Street and Park Drive.
