PETA wants Nova Scotia Lobster freed

An animal rights group has sent an appeal to a Nova Scotia lobster fisherman who wants to sell a giant lobster believed to be more than 100 years old.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is asking fisherman Beau Gillis to let the old lobster live by allowing a PETA "lobster liberator" to help release the creature. The fisherman is advertising the 14-kilogram lobster for sale on the popular Kijiji website for $1,000. Ashley Byrne, a senior campaigner with PETA said,

We still think that there is time for him to have a change of heart, like a lot of other people have. He (the lobster) deserves to live out the rest of his days in peace without being boiled alive or nailed up on a wall.

PETA president Ingrid Newkirk says the organization hopes Gillis, who is from Freeport, Nova Scotia, will find it in his heart to give the old lobster -- who has stayed out of the pot for over a century -- a chance to live out his remaining days in peace, reports the Canadian Press. Byrne said the public doesn’t realize that lobsters form long relationships and communicate with each other. Many scientists believe lobsters don’t live much beyond 100 years of age, but some believe their ages can be calculated by weight. According to Wikipedia, a lobster named George, which was released back into the wild last January by a New York restaurant, was believed to have been about 140 years old. Gillis has not responded to PETA as of yet.