PETA Serves ‘Kitten Rolls’ Outside Maine Lobster Festival

For Immediate Release:
July 29, 2024

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

“If you wouldn’t eat a cat, why eat a lobster?” That’s the food for thought a PETA supporter wearing a chef hat and an apron will dish out near the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland on Wednesday by enticing would-be attendees with a smorgasbord of convincing “cat” and “kitten” rolls—complete with perfectly toasted buns. The provocative display will urge onlookers to think about the individual behind each lobster roll—and to drive that message home, PETA supporters will hand out free vegan starter kits to passersby.

“When it comes to feeling pain and fear, a lobster is no different from a cat, a dog, or a human,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA encourages anyone disturbed by the idea of chowing down on a kitten to extend that empathy to all living, feeling beings and please go vegan.”

Where: In front of Camden National Bank, S. Main and Park streets (across from the Maine Lobster Festival), Rockland

When: Wednesday, July 31, 12 noon

Why: Lobsters are intelligent individuals who explore their surroundings, can remember other individual lobsters, and use complex signals to establish social relationships. If left in peace, they can live to be more than 100 years old. PETA investigations into lobster slaughterhouses in the U.S. have documented that workers tore lobsters apart limb from limb and used metal pipes to pry their heads from their bodies while they were still conscious and able to feel pain. Chefs often place live lobsters into pots of boiling water—a practice so cruel that it has been banned in several countries.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kitsfor people who need a lesson in kindness.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.