In Memory of Bubba

At 23 pounds, “Bubba” the lobster may have been 100 years old or even older. When Bubba was born, women were not allowed to vote, and no one had flown in a plane or even driven a car. He thrived off the coast of Massachusetts for an entire century or more, but like millions of other lobsters captured every year, he was torn from his home, dragged onto a boat, and shipped to a Pittsburgh market to be boiled alive.

Bubba’s amazing size set him apart from the other lobsters destined for a boiling pot, and his story quickly hit the airwaves and became front-page news in Pittsburgh and around the world. PETA pleaded with the shop’s owner to allow us to send Bubba back to the Atlantic Ocean, where he’d lived for so long, but despite the knowledge that lobsters in captivity rarely live long, the shop owner sent him to the notoriously animal-unfriendly Pittsburgh Zoo.

Lobsters are known to be fragile—the ocean is their perfect habit, but mimicking it well is difficult, causing lobsters in captivity to die quickly. Bubba’s death was likely caused by a combination of bad water and the extreme stress of captivity. In the past, lobsters of Bubba’s size have survived only a matter of days in captivity. But because the ocean is their natural habitat, PETA regularly releases lobsters in the protected waters off the coast of Maine with a 100 percent success rate.

We’ve heard from people all over the world who were inspired by Bubba’s story. Many joined us in begging for him to be spared both a painful death and pitiful life in captivity and asked that that he be put back in the ocean where he belonged. Others, many with good intentions, suggested that he be sent to an aquarium, but with unfortunate consequences.

Bubba was singled out of the crowd of nameless animals who are killed for food each year, and thousands of people saw in him what is true of all animals: They are unique individuals with their own personalities, and they deserve to be treated with kindness and compassion.

Sadly, you can no longer help Bubba, but you can ensure that Bubba did not die in vain by adopting a vegetarian diet in his memory. Request our free vegetarian starter kit to get started today.

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