140-Year-Old Lobster Freed From New York Restaurant

A lobster, thought to be up to 140 years old, is to be released into the Atlantic Ocean, after briefly becoming an unconventional mascot at a New York City restaurant.

PETA found out about the plight of the 20 pound crustacean when a diner at NYC’s City Crab & Seafood called to say it was being kept in the diner’s tank. PETA’s Ingrid Newkirk praised the restaurant, saying, “We applaud the folks at City Crab and Seafood for their compassionate decision to allow this noble old-timer to live out his days in freedom and peace.”

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Manager Keith Valenti bought the lobster for $100, with the intention of making it a mascot, after the 20 pound creature was landed off the coast of Canada. He said a lobster’s age can be calculated from its weight, with each pound equating to 7 to 10 years. Valenti said it was fairly frequent for lobsters to live for more than 100 years but it was uncommon for them to be caught because they were generally too large to fit in the baskets.

Valenti told reporters, “We bought a big lobster, started taking pictures with kids and it worked out real well,” before adding that it was a “no brainer” to return the old crustacean to the ocean.

Now, whether the lobster would have been freed from captivity if its plight has not been publicised is another matter. I suspect that, if it wasn’t for the actions of the mystery diner, the poor old thing would most likely have spent the remainder of its days as a cheap tourist attraction.

Image Credit - Gaetan Lee via flickr.com on a Creative Commons license

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