PETA Enlists Motorists’ Support in Trying to Clean Up Linda Bean’s Lobster Slaughter Methods

‘Linda Mean Maims Lobsters,’ Proclaim Gas-Pump Ads

For Immediate Release:
November 14, 2013

Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382

When they fill up their cars’ gas tanks today, drivers in Maine will get an education about crustaceans, courtesy of PETA, which has installed gas-pump topper ads at gas stations across the state to alert people to the cruel killing methods uncovered at Linda Bean’s crab and lobster slaughterhouse in Rockland.

The ads—which parody the Linda Bean’s Maine Lobster logo—read, “Linda Bean’s slaughterhouse rips apart live lobsters and crabs,” a reference to the PETA undercover investigation that revealed that slaughterhouse workers rip off lobsters’ claws and heads while they’re still alive and able to feel pain. Live crabs’ shells are broken off with sharp spikes, and their exposed organs and flesh are pushed onto rapidly spinning stiff-bristled brushes. The ads are a new salvo in PETA’s campaign calling for drastic reforms at the slaughterhouse. Previous actions have included public demonstrations outside Linda Bean’s restaurants in Maine and Florida as well as appeals to Maine law-enforcement officials.

“People have a right to know that millions of living, feeling animals are being ripped apart at Linda Bean’s slaughterhouse every year,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA is calling on Linda Bean to stop live dismemberment and switch to a slaughter method that will eliminate this torture.

Just like dogs and cats, lobsters and crabs feel pain. Because lobsters have masses of nervous tissue spread throughout their bodies, their deaths can be prolonged, as their nervous systems continue to function even after they are dismembered. PETA’s video footage shows lobsters writhing long after they have been torn apart and tossed into bins. Modern lobster sellers and processing plants—including Whole Foods Market in Portland and Shucks Maine Lobster in Richmond—electrically stun or subject lobsters to hydrostatic pressure before they’re dismembered.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.