The Lobster Zone is turning up in restaurants across the country. It’s similar to arcade games that let players compete for stuffed animals and other cheap prizes using a hand-operated claw. Except, for a couple bucks a pop, people playing the Lobster Zone try to catch a live animal. And if they succeed? The unlucky lobster is tossed into the boiling pot for the winner’s dinner. This “game” is really mean. In fact, Irvine, Calif., police officer Dennis Ruvolu says the Lobster Zone subjects lobsters “to unnecessary, inhumane treatment.”

PETA pal Drew Barrymore recently told Seventeen magazine readers one of her secret wishes: to “save all the little live lobsters in restaurants and throw them back into the ocean. Particularly at places along the ocean where the lobsters are in fish tanks about 50 feet away from the ocean. You just think, ‘There’s something wrong with this picture. ... They can probably see the ocean out of the window. It must be like purgatory for them.’”

If you see a Lobster Zone game or a lobster tank when you’re eating out or in a store, speak out! Talk to the manager, or write a letter saying you support lobster liberation!

When PETA first started asking anglers to pitch their poles and get hooked on compassion, some people were “reeling” in disbelief! Anglers say fishing is a harmless pastime that makes people appreciate the outdoors, brings families together ... yada, yada, yada. We say, “Hooks hurt.” Here’s what else anglers are saying—and our responses.

“Fish don’t feel pain.”
OK, time for a basic biology lesson. According to Dr. Donald Broom, animal welfare advisor to the British government, “The scientific literature is quite clear. Anatomically, physiologically, and biologically, the pain system in fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals. In animal welfare terms, you have to put fishing into the same category as hunting.” Adds Dr. Austin Williams, a U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service zoologist, fish “are [sensitive] organisms, so of course they feel pain.”

“Catch-and-release fishing isn’t nearly as cruel as hunting.”
I don’t think so. Catch-and-release fishing may actually be worse because one fish may be hooked again and again—causing more injuries and pain.

Trout Unlimited’s Charles Gauvin admits, “It is possible to go to places like the South Platte in Colorado and the San Juan in New Mexico where the fish are battered, their lips are bruised from being caught so many times.”

“If fish are hurt when they’re hooked, why do they keep biting?”
Because anglers go to great lengths to hide their hooks with bait and lures, and even the most injured animals will continue to seek out food and fight to stay alive. Duh!

“At least the fish don’t die.”
Wanna bet? Here’s some more science: “Playing” fish to the brink of exhaustion causes lactic acid to build up in the fish’s bodies—which causes their muscle cells to start decomposing from lack of oxygen—and greatly decreases their chances of surviving.

Not only that, fish can die from inflated air bladders, and cuts from fishing line and hooks, as well as boat-side injuries, all decrease fish’s chances of survival. So does catching fish with bait. Fish who bite bait often swallow the hooks, causing internal damage.

“But anglers are the best wildlife conservationists in the world.”
Well, with friends like that. ... Besides killing fish, anglers also leave behind a trail of tackle victims—including birds, turtles, bats, and countless other animals—who are hurt after swallowing fish hooks or becoming entangled in fishing line. Scientific American magazine says that fishing line is responsible for more wildlife entanglement than anything else!

Birds and bats who fly into fishing line caught in trees become hopelessly entangled; most will slowly starve to death. Animals who get entangled in line that is on the ground can become trapped underwater and drown if it catches on rocks or logs.

Other types of tackle can be deadly, too. Birds who swallow hooks can suffer lacerated beaks and throats; most will starve. Wildlife rehabilitators have treated birds poisoned by lead sinkers and otters who could not digest their food because their intestines were full of plastic fishing lures. But these animals are the lucky ones: Most tackle victims die before being found.

Why Einstein Didn’t Eat Fish
If someone tells you that fish is a brain food, tell them to think again! Fish flesh is loaded with artery-clogging fat and cholesterol—as well as heavy metals like lead and mercury, industrial pesticides and herbicides, and other chemicals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 300,000 people get sick from eating contaminated seafood every year.

Commercial Fishing Is a Killer, Too
Commercial fishing vessels are vacuuming the oceans clean of sea life at an insane pace. Enormous fishing nets swallow up everything—and everyone—in their path, including turtles, sea birds, seals, dolphins, and other animals. The United Nations estimates that every year, commercial fishers dump some 27 million tons of nontargeted fish alone—most of them dead or dying—back into the oceans; that’s more than one-fourth of all the fish caught worldwide!

Help keep rivers, beaches, and other open spaces safe for animals by removing fishing line and other trash. If you know people who fish, show them this article! Many anglers don’t realize just how deadly their pastime can be. Visit our Web site www.NoFishing.net for more information.