If you walk into Joe's Brewery on busy night, chances are you will see a crowd of college students around the Lobster Zone Machine. Here is video of what you could expect to see:
As a result, PETA's office in Norfolk, VA has asked the bar remove the machine immediately and threatened the group would mobilize their members against the bar. For more information losters' ability to feel pain, please visit LobsterLib.com. I am sickened by capitalist pigs abusing animals for cheap "amusement" in order make a few extra dollars.
I hope you will join me and follow the advice provided on LobsterLib:
If you come across the Lobster Zone, you can help lobsters:
1. Call and write the owner of the restaurant. Politely, but firmly, let him or her know that games are supposed to be about skill, fun, and prizes, not suffering—and ask that the contraption be removed.
2. If the tank is excessively crowded, or if it looks as if there are dead lobsters, complain to the health department.
3. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Let people in your area know that all animals, including lobsters, deserve our consideration.
Here is a sample letter to the editor that you can write:
Letters to the Editor
[name of newspaper]
Dear Editor:
If grocery stores kept live pigs or chickens crammed inside tiny glass tanks along with recipes suggesting that the animals be boiled alive, there’d be a lot more vegetarians! But how many of us have walked by supermarket lobster tanks without as much as a second thought?
Take a look the next time you’re at the store: Often, lobster tanks are filthy and overcrowded, with lobsters piled on top of each other, as I witnessed at [name] grocery store this week. Even under the best of circumstances, eating lobsters can be a public health risk. Seafood is the number one cause of food poisoning in the United States, and shellfish are involved in more than 66 percent of all seafood-related illnesses. In fact, as much as 10 percent of raw shellfish are infected with organisms that can cause hepatitis, salmonella poisoning, cholera, and even death. Keeping these sea animals in filthy tanks doesn’t make them any safer!
It is also cruel to confine animals of any species to a small space and slowly starve them. Most lobsters in restaurant and grocery store tanks are never fed in order to prevent the water from being fouled with excrement. Of course, this does nothing to protect consumers from the mercury, DDT, PCB’s, dioxin, disease-causing bacteria, and other contaminants that are commonly found in lobster flesh.
It’s time to liberate these and other animals from the pot by switching to a healthful, humane vegetarian diet.
Sincerely,
B is for Business
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| PETA Letter.pdf | 127.29 KB |
This particular game is a bit repugnant on several levels. Even most kids get scolded for playing with their food, so the immaturity factor here is pretty blatant. My own sense of humor is fairly warped so I'd be more than a little hypocritical to get into a tizzy over it though. I could see how this could offend some more sensible folks whose upbringing came with the aftershocks of the great depression putting appreciation/thanks at a paramount for their meals. It also smacks of conspicuous consumption that they've turned an upper class dish into a parlor game.
That said, as an omnivore, the general idea of killing crustaceans for dinner doesn't bug me, though if there were some overtly unnecessary cruelty going on it might offend the empathetic traits we humans have developed in our evolution. You'll see far worse shenanigans going on in the kitchens of Red Lobster on your average evening. When all is said and done the vegetarian argument falls flat given that the evolution of the heavy resource hogging brains makes it a bit absurd to be ignoring our omnivorous ability to feed our disproportionate energy needs efficiently. The ethical concerns to do the least harm have some merit. This game seems to make a mockery of those concerns, let alone appreciation for their meal or a shockingly spoiled lifestyle. It's no wonder that it has elicited this kind of reaction, though I think it just ends up being free advertisement.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
This blog has really taken a turn for the worse. It was so much better when there was relevant local political news, not this Fox-aganda nonsense.
WTF does PETA have to do with anti-capitalism?
I'm quite frankly shocked that you didn't use "unions" and "liberals" more in this world-beating post.
B is to Blame.
Ethics about killing and eating animals has always bothered me. The reason is because I am a Christian. We named 'em, we have dominion over them, they don't have souls, they are here for us to eat. Killing for fun isn't right, but killing for food is what we do as predators. I don't care if the chicken doesn't want to die, I'm not eating a live chicken. I don't care if the chicken lives its whole life in a box, I want a nice tasty chicken.
If you have a bad feeling about the "humane" treatment of animals, you should re-examine what "humane" means. It goes to how we should treat humans, not food.
Now hand me that butcher knife, I gotta cut up some meat.
Another bozo, boorish thread from B
"If you have a bad feeling about the "humane" treatment of animals, you should re-examine what "humane" means. It goes to how we should treat humans, not food."
Actually you'll find most dictionaries define the term to describe human notions of sympathy or compassion more generally, including that for animals. Words often take on meanings that are removed to varying degrees from their roots, but those roots don't restrict words to some rudimentary definition that would otherwise seem apparent to someone restricted from accessing a dictionary to confirm their first impression. The same tactic is used by folks who dismiss the term "antisemitic" as only meaning a bigotry towards Jews because the root terms suggests a dislike of all Semitic peoples. But the word, as with many words, means more than just the roots.
The other common meaning for humane makes your little rant about your divine dominion over animals, including many that would no doubt disagree if they caught you in the wild, all the more ironic.
--
Glock21 Op/Ed
B is for Boy It's Getting Deep In Here.
I agree - B needs to get off this cut-rate Fox News kick. But, hey, maybe this blog is his fifteen minutes of fame.
Oh, so if the lion catches me in the wild, he is supposed to treat me humanely, or maybe to "lionize" me? Ha. He eats me with a lot less thought than I give the chicken, that's for sure. Bad for me, I just became "prey". That is one big reason I stay away from lions.
I eat animals. They are here for me to eat. I don't kick dogs, I don't light cats on fire. I don't pull the wings off of flies. I eat chickens. Caged up, cut up, and put on styrofoam trays wrapped in plastic.
That is a chicken's job in this world, to get eaten by me. It is why the chicken was hatched, fed, and raised.
I even eat chicken embryos. I don't think about the lost chicken life, the torment of the hen losing her progeny, or the other chicks losing their good friends. I crack 'em open and fry 'em up. That is why they are here, to be put, 12 at a time, in a styrofoam tray so I can cook 'em and eat 'em.
Say hey to Buddha. Then go eat some lentils and feel angst about being the top tier predator. Maybe when the Big Wheel turns you'll get to come back as as a lamb. Me? I'm not coming back. I'll get to eat all the bacon I want in heaven.
Ethics about killing and eating animals has always bothered me. The reason is because I am a Christian. We named 'em, we have dominion over them, they don't have souls, they are here for us to eat. Killing for fun isn't right, but killing for food is what we do as predators. I don't care if the chicken doesn't want to die, I'm not eating a live chicken. I don't care if the chicken lives its whole life in a box, I want a nice tasty chicken.
Gotta disagree with you there. Yes, humans eating means that something else has to die - even soybean harvesting kills bugs and other animals. But I don't think there's a need for gratuitous cruelty.
Earlier in my life, I was a little uncomfortable with the idea of hunting. Then I did some fieldwork with my dog and met some real hunters, and it occurred to me that hunting was a lot less cruel than factory farming.
FWIW, I have some disagreements with PETA, but have to say that the lobster machine sounds pretty disturbing.
Wayward, I have a news flash for you. Lobsters don't have brains, at least what we thing of as brains. They are bugs. Underwater bugs. "Non-insect arthopods". They don't have a clue if someone is giggling or praying over them, if someone's loving, caring hand is tossing them in a pot of boiling water or if it's some mechanical arm picking them up.
If you are disturbed it is because you are, everyone of you please pay attention to this word, an·thro·po·morph-ing. Stylizing human characteristics on non-human objects.
Don't kick dogs. Don't light cats on fire. Don't pull the wings off of flies. That's just cruelty for cruelty's sake.
Be thankful you are a top predator. Go ahead and eat animals. They would do the same to you if they had the chance.
Does anyone know what does the bar do with the lobsters once they are caught? The idea of fishing for lobsters in a bar seems fatuous.
watching the video, this machine doesn't seem all that cruel to me. the lobster was picked up and put down pretty gently. if the crane misses or drops the lobster, the lobster will be a bit 'annoyed', but it doesn't look like it would be abusive.
(I am assuming if you pick up the lobster, you then proceed to have it cooked for eating?)
"The idea of fishing for lobsters in a bar seems fatuous"
I don't get it. Are they eating beans, too?
On December 30th, 2009 at 03:05 PM, Dane said:
"The idea of fishing for lobsters in a bar seems fatuous"
I don't get it. Are they eating beans, too?
Finally, someone with a sense of humor. Some of these people need to take a nap.
People Eating Tasty Animals
Haha, eating lobster at campus bar. What will they think of next?
Since these campus bar owners can no longer encourage binge drinking, why are you against them looking at other potential revenue streams like games? Having the word Business in your blog name appears more antithesis with each new post you author. I suggest you stick to what seems to be your area of interest/study business.
why are you against them looking at other potential revenue streams like games?
Why is what B is for B thinks important or relevant ?
"What will they think of next?"
It's not what will they think of, it more like what's already been thought of...
http://library.thinkquest.org/3205/SwalG.html
I agree that lobsters are pretty much just bugs, and are there for us to eat, but starving them until they are caught or die doesn't seem ethical. My other question is what happens if I catch one and don't want it, or just forget it at the bar? As much as they are just bugs, it seems cruel to just toss them into the garbage to die, and unsanitary to throw them back into the tank.
If they are fed, the tanks cleaned regularly, caught and immediately dipactched and prepared... I see nothing wrong with this. Personally I wouldn't eat them, because I don't really trust a bar to act as a proper fish monger, but I don't see it as unethical.
The machine is managed by a third party and includes a state-of-the-art filtration system. The bar will prepare the lobster or or box and refigerate the lobster for pickup the next day. If you win a lobster, you must have someone from the bar remove the lobster with a key so that customers are not handling the lobster and getting bitten/pinched (or whatever a lobster can do).
Other than the clawing mechanism (on the machine), I'm wondering if this machine is much different than a tank at a grocery store or a Red Lobster. Cooking and preparing a lobster doesn't seem to require much expertise. I have no idea how a lobster can live for several months without being fed, but apparently that machine is uber popular and the lobsters don't last that long in the tank.
On December 30th, 2009 at 10:14 AM, xian said:
WTF does PETA have to do with anti-capitalism?
I'm quite frankly shocked that you didn't use "unions" and "liberals" more in this world-beating post.
If you look at the attached letter, PETA took issue with the abuse of lobsters for cheap amusement "in order to make a few extra dollars". BTW, this is a nice money maker for the bar. They pay nothing and get to keep 25% of the proceeds.
As for the "world-beating" post, I highly doubt the thread count on this thread will compete with some of my other recent posts.
I'm dissapointed with Kenneth Montville (kennethm@peta.org)! I'm ready for a good, old-fashioned protest and he's making empty threats that he may mobilize PETA members. I have read the manual. I have ordered my stickers. I have protest boots ready to go and and my signs made:
I wonder if Dallas & Co carries this loster costume:
If you look at the attached letter, PETA took issue with the abuse of lobsters for cheap amusement "in order to make a few extra dollars". BTW, this is a nice money maker for the bar. They pay nothing and get to keep 25% of the proceeds.
Think of the money they could make if they set up a dog fighting pit in the back room! Maybe we could attract an NFL class quarterback to Illinois with that kind of attraction.
Three Score and Ten Plus One
Keith Hays
Just remember that there are no morals when it comes to making money. Take it further - why not live sex shows between animals? How about we get those live monkeys from Indonesia and allow people to hit their skulls until they die and then eat their brains? Cock fighting?
The possibilities are endless since obviously no creature besides the human deserves even a modicum amount of respect. As long as there is a dollar to be made, we might as well act like animals.
"Just remember that there are no morals when it comes to making money. Take it further - why not live sex shows between animals? How about we get those live monkeys from Indonesia and allow people to hit their skulls until they die and then eat their brains?
Thanks A4A, I haven't laughed that hard in a while. I'm afraid to google those suggestions fearing that people actually do those things. I can't imagine that anyone would pay to see live sex show between animals *still laughing out loud*, but I'm sure they do somewhere.
Can the claw hurt the lobsters? Do the lobsters get hurt when they go down the chute?
No. The plastic claw is engineered to close with a certain amount of air pressure, making it impossible to hurt the lobsters through its hard shell. When a lobster is released, the claw extends far enough down the chute so that the lobster slides down a gentle slope and into a bucket. The lobsters cannot be hurt.
Comparing that to dog fighting and live animal sex shows *still laughing* seems like a bit much.
A, how do you think the lobsters get into the tank? Do you think a mommy and daddy lobster meet, get to know each other, date a little, marry, and then have little lobsters? Just like a Disney movie!
Lobsters are pulled off the ocean floor, sometimes by hand and sometimes in traps, and tossed into sacks or, if commercially harvested (ewww, harvested?) tossed into the belly of ships where they crawl around a while, out of water, until they are sorted by size and dumped. Up to this point, no one has asked the lobster, "How does that make you feel?"
The lobster then gets to travel all the way to middle America and put into a tank of water. During this travel, the lobster is not underwater, unless you think all those tanker trucks rolling down the road are carrying lobsters. Lobster get flown, and don't even have to buy a ticket.
The lobster arrives at the receiving dock, and is inspected. It is not asked, "How do you feel now? Are you scared, has everybody treated you nicely?" They are checked to see if they are alive.
Then, they finally get to go to some local place, and they are tossed into a tank of water. Not for the lobster, he has been wetted down the whole time, but for the silly human who thinks the lobster has to be underwater. The lobster doesn't care so long as he doesn't dry out. The water tank is for you, A, not for the lobster. To make you think it's all "oceany" and "natural". And, btw, the lobsters are not fed once they come out of the ocean. What would you feed a lobster, A, Purina Lobster Chow? The lobsters don't starve.
Then, finally, someone selects him as their favorite. Maybe because of size, maybe because the lobster looks so cute. Now comes the humanity part. Either toss the lobster, whole, into a pot of boiling water, or drive a chef's knife down through the lobster's head behind and just between its eyes. Then toss it in the pot. Either way, the lobster is dead within seconds.
Then crack him open, say a little thanks to The Powers That Be (for making you a creature that can say thanks, instead of being the creature on the plate) and dig in.
Hilarious!
Where can we buy Purina lobster chow?
"Where can we buy Purina lobster chow?" Sailfin, on Neil.
I'm afraid to google those suggestions fearing that people actually do those things.
You've obviously never seen Faces of Death.
A, how do you think the lobsters get into the tank?
Who cares? There is money to be made! And they aren't humans so we can do whatever we want to them without qualms.
So why stop at Lobsters? Your cute little story about the Lobsters could also apply to puppies. Surely you're not the conservative who is justifying killing puppies for profit, are you?
Oh please, PLEASE let this be the one! I've waited so many years. PLEASE let this guy say we should kill puppies! PLEASE!!!!
only seal pups
A for Anonymous. What is it that you hate so much about puppies? yikes
A for Anonymous. What is it that you hate so much about puppies? yikes
Oh, you don't understand. The "killing puppies" joke has been floating around this blog for years. Now we are inches away from finding a person who will actually advocate the killing of puppies for profit. This is it! The Big One. If only Mr. Random Anonymous will write back that yes, his ethics regarding lobsters do, in fact, translate perfectly to puppies then we'll have it!
This is like catching Jaws. Like the Cubs winning the pennant. Like ... uh .... well, it's kind of a big deal.
And, for it to be complete, Xian needs to be here to see it.
Where does A get the idea someone is inches away from that suggestion? He brings up puppies and says someone else is inches away? Wierd.
No, A, I do not advocate killing puppies. I already said don't kick dogs. I do advocate eating lobsters. Lobsters are food, puppies are not. If I was starving I wouldn't hesitate to eat a dog. The dog would eat me if it had to. And I guarantee you that I would kill a dog just to keep it from eating me.
Go eat some lentils. I eat meat. (I eat lentils, too but let's keep that a secret)
Just take some Beano beforehand and no one need be the wiser...
Do you peta nutjobs expect to get your point across with crap like this? Quit imposing your thoughts on life, pain, etc. on these lobsters, I doubt they appreciate it. Because they can't.
"Lobsters are food, puppies are not."
There are apparently a number of cultures in Asia and Africa where dogs are food. Is it okay to kill puppies there?
There are apparently a number of cultures in Asia and Africa where dogs are food. Is it okay to kill puppies there?
Only if it is done by a gambling machine in a Campus Bar. Then it is merely a cultural phenomenon.
Three Score and Ten Plus One
Keith Hays
"Only if it is done by a gambling machine in a Campus Bar. Then it is merely a cultural phenomenon."
Only if done in a dogfighting ring operating by a premier NFL quaterback. Then it is merely a cultural phenomenon.
Only if done in a dogfighting ring operating by a premier NFL quaterback. Then it is merely a cultural phenomenon.
I'm sure that Mr. Vick might disagree with you having found that it is a criminal offense - learning that fact the hard way.
Three Score and Ten Plus One
Keith Hays
I don't think that pigs would appreciate the way in which you are slandering their names. Associating them with capitalism doesn't even make sense, since they obviously don't have opposable thumbs to count money with.