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February 9, 2005
PETA's Lobster Problem: No Pain, No Gain
Somebody pass the butter. A recent Norwegian study reports that lobsters and crabs don't have the capacity to feel pain. And the animal rights nuts at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) -- who run a "lobster liberation" website -- must be steaming.
Somebody pass the butter. A recent Norwegian study reports that lobsters and crabs don't have the capacity to feel pain. And the animal rights nuts at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) -- who run a "lobster liberation" website -- must be steaming. Animal rights wackos have a long history of pursuing "lobster liberation." PETA's own website offers helpful "tips" on liberating lobsters from restaurants and supermarkets. It appears their pleas were taken to heart last year when PETA disciple and child actor Edward Furlong attempted to "liberate" a couple of lobsters from a Kentucky grocery store while in a drunken stupor. And then there's the international "Lobster Liberation Front," whose war on lobster fishermen has involved multiple acts of vandalism as well as direct threats.
The Guardian helps explain why lobsters and crabs can't feel pain, pointing out that they have only 100,000 neurons, whereas many vertebrates have upwards of 100 billion. Meanwhile, continuing its long tradition of ignoring inconvenient facts, PETA turns to supposed scientific evidence from the Coalition to End Animal Suffering and Exploitation to "prove" that lobsters feel pain anyway.
PETA employs the same half-baked tactics when questioning studies that show fish don't feel pain. They turn to "scientific experts" who just happen to be animal rights activists. It seems that something as inconsequential as science can't stop PETA and its ilk from pursuing its ultimate goal: "Total animal liberation."
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