PETA Statement: Maine Lobster Festival Fight With the City of Rockland to Continue After Court Ruling

For Immediate Release:
January 28, 2026

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

PETA’s efforts to stop thousands of lobsters from being steamed alive at Harbor Park, despite the scientific and biological fact that they feel pain, is to go full steam ahead, notwithstanding a state court’s dismissal yesterday of PETA’s lawsuit against the Maine Lobster Festival and the City of Rockland. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of a local PETA member, asked the court to declare the festival a public nuisance—given that it occupies Harbor Park for two weeks each year and makes an unavoidable spectacle out of cruelty to animals—and to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting the steaming of live lobsters on public lands. PETA expects to pursue fresh legal action shortly and notes that the judge did not rule on the merits of its case, which it believes to be strong and compelling.

Please see the following statement from PETA Foundation General Counsel Asher Smith:

Lobsters’ lives shouldn’t be dismissed any more than PETA’s lawsuit should be, and the case is a historic one. It comes at a time when the City must honestly acknowledge that other sentient forms of life may not look exactly like Maine residents, but they feel pain and are having it cruelly inflicted on them. This ruling takes a step backward at the very moment that Britain prepares to pass a law that will keep lobsters out of the pot for good.

PETA notes that while this motion was pending, the U.K. government announced plans to ban the boiling of live lobsters, following its prior legislative change recognizing lobsters as sentient beings under the country’s animal welfare law.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. PETA’s free vegan starter kit is filled with tips to help anyone looking to make the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.