Raley’s Grocery Company Pledges Never Again to Sell Live Lobsters

April 2007

After receiving calls and e-mails from thousands of PETA members and supporters, Raley’s Inc.–which owns grocery chains Raley’s, Bel Air, Nob Hill, and Food Source–announced that it will never again sell live lobsters in any of its 130-plus stores.

PETA issued an action alert after learning that Raley’s was confining lobsters–while they were still alive–to tiny plastic containers barely larger than their own bodies. The lobsters did not get any water to live in, and they received no food at all until they were sold or died (according to one Raley’s store manager, lobsters in the containers would usually die in a matter of days).

Not only did Raley’s get rid of these cruel packages, it also made the compassionate decision to follow the lead of Whole Foods Market and declare that it would never sell any live lobsters again.