NEW YORK (CNN) -- A giant lobster named George escaped a dinner-table fate and was released Saturday into the Atlantic Ocean after a New York seafood restaurant granted him his freedom, according to a statement from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. George the lobster was a "sort of mascot" for City Crab and Seafood in New York.
The PETA statement did not say how the extraordinary age estimate was determined, but restaurant manager Keith Valenti told CNN that lobsters can grow a pound every seven to 10 years, and he put George's weight at 18 to 20 pounds.
"I've been here for 12 years, and that's the biggest lobster I've ever seen," Valenti said.
He said the lobster had been "sitting in the restaurant's tank and acting as a sort of mascot," but when PETA got involved and requested the release, it "seemed like the right thing to do."
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And I'm betting that, shortly after his humane release back into the Atlantic Ocean, George the (nearly) Sesquicentennial Lobster met Sammy the Harbor Seal and became Sammy's much-appreciated dinner!
C'mon, PETA...have you got nothing better to do?
It takes a lobster seven years to grow to one pound, and the lobster tanks at most fine-dining establishments boast lobsters in excess of two to five pounds. Are these lobsters not as worthy of saving? Besides, at nearly 150 years old, I think George has led a long and fruitful life. His wife, kids and friends are probably all long gone. Can you think of a better candidate for lobster euthanasia?
His death at the hands of City Crab and Seafood would have been quick and (relatively) humane, and he would have provided sustenance for a family of four. Or one fat AIG exec on another expense account binge. Instead, George was unceremoniously dropped into the cold sea, in strange surroundings, and was bitten in half by a seal, or some other such predator.
The horror. The horror.
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