PETA Sues Maine Lobster Festival Over 16,000 Boiled Lobsters

Animal rights group PETA just dropped a lawsuit on one of America's biggest seafood parties, calling it downright torture.

The suit, filed July 24 in Knox County Superior Court, targets the Maine Lobster Festival and the city of Rockland. For nearly 80 years, this event has drawn tens of thousands of visitors who collectively devour 20,000 pounds of lobster. PETA says that's not a celebration—it's mass cruelty.

The Heart of the Fight

According to PETA, boiling 16,000 lobsters alive violates Maine law requiring "instantaneous death" for sentient animals. The festival chills lobsters before steaming them, but PETA claims that it just paralyzes them temporarily without stopping pain.

The lawsuit demands a permanent ban on steaming live lobsters on public land. PETA argues the festival turns Harbor Park into a "venue for municipally supported cruelty" that interferes with residents' ability to enjoy public space.