Animal rights activists appalled by Ale House's lobster game

As if being boiled alive and eaten isn't bad enough, animal rights activists complain that lobsters are now being terrorized by a new attraction at the Royal Palm Ale House. Next to the restaurant's bar stands a tall water tank fitted with a mechanical claw. Diners can pay a few bucks for a few minutes of dexterous play: Grab a lobster, and the chef will cook it for you. The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida calls the game "cruel" and "inhumane." After receiving several complaints last week, the Fort Lauderdale-based organization is demanding the eatery get rid of the machine or face a two-hour protest on May 22. "To pull off limbs, to poke them in the eye, to otherwise torment these animals ... we just find that appalling," said Melissa Gates, the foundation's managing director. But that's not the way the game works, said Joe Zucchero, president of Marine Ecological Habitats, which manufactures the Love Maine Lobster Claw game. The plastic claws are "extremely gentle," and the Maine company has never had an instance of a lobster claw coming off, he said. "If that were to occur, I would take the game off the market," he said. "As far as tearing lobsters apart, that does not happen. Period." Also, about 5 percent of the proceeds from the games goes toward Touch Tanks for Kids, a Maine nonprofit organization that helps children learn about marine life and caring for the ecosystem, he said...Palm Beach Post