Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has lodged a lawsuit against one of the largest seafood events in the U.S., calling it an "egregious" display of "torture and torment." Filed July 24 in Knox County Superior Court in Maine, the suit accuses the Maine Lobster Festival and the city of Rockland, where it's been hosted annually for nearly 80 years, of engaging in large-scale animal cruelty. Tens of thousands of visitors flock to the festival, where 20,000 pounds of lobster are served each year, according to the festivalwebsite. The result is a "nuisance to the public," at the center of which is an act of "extreme animal suffering," PETA alleges in its complaint. The suit seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting the steaming of live lobsters on public land. PETA alleges that the act of boiling 16,000 lobsters alive is a violation of a Maine law that requires sentient animals be killed with methods that result in "instantaneous death." The festival's current practice of chilling the lobsters before steaming them is inadequate to prevent suffering, claims PETA, as it does not render them unconscious but merely inhibits their motor function temporarily. The complaint also alleges that "scientific consensus" has deemed lobsters sentient and capable of feeling pain and, therefore, the practice of boiling them alive violates state law while also occupying Harbor Park and interfering with the public's right to use the community space. "By openly cooking thousands of thinking, feeling animals alive, the Maine Lobster Festival is effectively turning public land into a venue for municipally supported cruelty," PETA Foundation Director of Litigation Asher Smith said in a statement shared with USA TODAY. "PETA is pushing to end these horrific displays and restore compassionate Rockland residents' ability to enjoy Harbor Park year-round." In a statement shared with thePenobscot Bay Pilot, organizers said the festival's current practices adhere to both legal and industry standards. "The methods we use to prepare lobster at the festival follow widely accepted and legal culinary practices that have been in place in homes, restaurants, and seafood festivals across the globe for generations," the statement shared with the Bay Pilot said. "To date, Maine's laws do not prohibit the traditional preparation of lobster, and the state has not recognized boiling or steaming lobsters as a violation of its animal welfare laws." Festival organizers also argue in the statement that there is "no conclusive scientific consensus that lobsters feel pain in a way comparable to mammals." While some research shows the possibility of sentience, it said, the research is not conclusive and the state of Maine has not classified the crustaceans as sentient animals protected by anti-cruelty laws. "To our knowledge, we have not received any complaints from local residents about this issue," said the festival's response to PETA's allegations of public disruption. "No one is required to view or participate in the lobster cooking process, there are plenty of other sites to see at our event." The festival begins on Wednesday, July 30 and runs through Sunday, Aug. 3. The Maine Lobster Festival did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:PETA sues Maine Lobster Festival, calls it 'extreme animal suffering'
