Bubba the 23lb lobster

There is an interesting story on the cover of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, that was also featured on CBS's Early Show, other news programs, and in many papers. It is headed, "Big Bubba, The Lobster Saved From the Pot."

We read,

"The crusty crustacean -- billed as 100 years old and weighing a whopping 23 pounds -- was caught in the Atlantic Ocean and wound up Thursday in the tank at Robert Wholey & Co., the Strip District seafood purveyor. This residence looked to be temporary, lasting only until somebody invited him to dinner.

"The behemoth caused quite a splash, but not every shopper wanted to eat him. One woman offered to pay $500 -- roughly $150 more than he'd fetch at the going price per pound -- for Bubba's release to an aquarium.

"The publicity, including a TV news report, made some animal lovers boiling mad, and so from across the country they called and e-mailed the Norfolk, Va. headquarters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

"Karin Robertson, who manages the group's Fish Empathy Project, took up Bubba's claws. On Monday, she faxed a letter to CEO Robert Wholey III asking that Bubba "be released back into his ocean home," where he'd lived since before women could vote.

"It would be a tragedy to end his long life by tormenting him in a pot of boiling water,' she wrote, 'or by shoving him into a zoo aquarium to be gawked at in a tiny enclosure until he dies.'

"As of yesterday, Bubba looked to be spared the first fate but not the second.

"Robert Wholey -- as he had initially, and sympathetically, told PETA -- decided to donate the lobster to the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium."

We learn that Pittsburg probably doesn't have the facilities to care for him, so he may end up at an aquarium in Canada. And we learn that he is probably really 30-40 years old rather than 100, and that he may not be a he.

There is another quote from PETA's Karin Robertson: "An aquarium is not an approximation of the freedom he's been able to experience. ... It really is just ridiculous to think that Bubba is better off being displayed as a sideshow freak."

You can read the whole story on line at:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05061/464962.stm

You can read or view the video of "The Early Show" version of the story at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/02/earlyshow/main677483.shtml

It is a relief that Bubba will not be boiled alive. But I think most people, feeling that relief, may lose sight of what an ordeal he has been through, and, assuming he is now to live in a tank, what a sad day it was for him when he was caught.

The story presents a great opportunity for letters to the editor recommending we show other animals the same compassion, at least with regard to not cooking them, that we are showing Bubba. But you might write against keeping animals in captivity for human entertainment.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette takes letters at: http://www.post-gazette.com/contact/comments_form.asp?ID=40
But this story is appearing in many papers so I hope people will write to their local papers where they have the best chance of being published (though most papers will also publish letters from out of state from people who saw the story on the web) since many local papers publish a large percentage of letters they receive.

Don’t hesitate to ask me for help if you have trouble finding the correct address for a letter to your editor. And I am always happy to edit letters.

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)