Everybody's Happy!

We should send Ingrid Newkirk to the Jungles of Africa and hope she gets eaten by a hungry animal. Why should some fish be allowed to eat that lobster alive instead of the people who caught it. If I met her I would want to saute her in butter and eat her. That lobster was a lot safer chillin in a tank getting fed now the poor old thing has to fend for itself in a sea full of predators. PETA is the most unethical organization around.

I have to agree. Releasing captive bred, captive raised, or even long term captive wildlife is the pinnacle of irresponsible animal stewardship. I'm sure the bleeding hearts at PETA were outraged at George's small accomidations (since it would take a SIZABLE aquarium to simulate natural range for a lobster of such size). However, lobsters are crustaceans, and spend much of their time stuffing themselves as far as possible up under stuff. The small lodgings were likely rather comfortable for George, leaving him safe and happy that food just kept "drifting right by."

That brings me to my arguments:

1) Any creature long in captivity becomes accustomed to that captive life, and thus less viable as a wild animal fending for itself. This often leads to stress and starvation.

2) Most captive animals are fat (at least compaired to wild specimins). Again, less viable and more open to predation.

3) Captive creatures face different sicknesses than wild populations. This creates a risk for both the released animal as well as wild animals, niether of which is ready for the other's pathogens.

4) A big lobster like that has and defends a home turf. Introduction of an alpha like that into the ecosystem is going to displace several others: other lobsters who have earned that position of dominace through hard living.

5) It is a lobster. They are not in danger from being kept as pets, only through over fishing. Lobsters have scads and scads of babies, only a few who reach adulthood.

6) It is also unlikely that George would ever end up on a plate. He was a mascot, he would have been very exspensive, and he would have had an inferior flavor to a more moderately sized animal.

PETA saves George but sacrifices at least 10 of his friends in his place. Assuming that George would have fed at least 10 people based on his weight of 20 pounds. If diners are looking for something lighter in the 1 to 1-1/2 pound range, the body count would go up.

That's in addition to the displacement issues already mentioned.

This assumes that he gets eaten at all.

LOL the truth is nobody would ever have eaten George anyway. When a lobster lives that long its meat gets tough and less tasty. George was nothing more than a trophy, or a guinea pig for us to research why it has lived so long. But because of PETA any good that could have come from this animal is now lost.