Pet lobster thrown into harbour by animal rights activist likely to have died instantly, owner says

Want LBC stories before everyone else? Set us as your Preferred Source on Google

Emma Smart "freed" the crustacean from Catch at the Old Fish Market in Weymouth, Dorset, believing it was going to be eaten.

But it was later revealed that the lobster was part of a pair, named Ronnie and Reggie, which were being kept as pets in the same tank.

The animal had been owned by the restaurant's manager Anthony Cooper for two-and-a-half years and was never intended for sale, and was instead there for "educational" purposes for visiting children.

Smart entered the eatery and grabbed one of the pets from the warm water tank before throwing it into the harbour outside like a "cricket ball".

Read more: Peter Mandelson failed security vetting before US role - Foreign Office overruled decision

Read more: Andrew now confined to 'luxurious prison' and unable to go out

Mr Cooper labelled Smart "ignorant" and said the sudden change in water temperature would have killed the lobster.

Its also companion died soon after, possibly due to loneliness after the loss of its tank-mate, Mr Cooper said.

Smart made off from the building despite attempts by two staff members to intervene, barging past them to exit the premises.

Appearing at Bournemouth Crown Court, Smart admitted one count of causing criminal damage to the animal. She was given a three-year restraining order, which prohibits her from being within ten metres of the restaurant.

Prosecutor Ben Thompson said: "At 9pm on April 10 last year the defendant was waiting outside the entrance of the restaurant.

"When the guests are leaving she comes in and a member of staff attempts to push her out of the property.

"Eventually, Ms Smart makes her way towards the tank that holds the crayfish, which is actually a lobster.

"It had belonged to the restaurant owner Anthony Cooper for two-and-a-half years and was not for sale but instead for education reasons when children visit."

Mr Thompson added: "Ms Smart reached into the fish tank and took the lobster. Multiple members of staff tried to stop her but she left and leaned over a wall before placing it in the harbour, with the lobster not seen again."

Smart was initially charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, theft and assault, but was allowed to plea to the lesser count of criminal damage.

Hitting out at the way the case was handled by authorities leading the lesser charges being accepted, Mr Cooper said: "The travesty of the whole thing is that the animal will have died the second it hit the water.

"The force with which Emma Smart threw the animal into the harbour would almost certainly have killed it.

"She has thrown it in an overarm throw, like a cricket ball. There was no gentle release, she has thrown it with great force.

"The temperature in the tank is vastly different from in the harbour. The sudden change in water temperature alone, that thermal shock will have killed that animal."

Judge Susan Evans told Smart: "The lobster was not there for consumption. It was there for educational purposes.

"You were determined to take it from the tank and you placed it in the harbour. It was a deeply misguided thing to have done.

"It was not a good thing for the lobster at all and whether or not it survived, we don't know."

Smart also previously appeared in court over an event at the venue in 2022 when she attempted to force her way in to speak to Sir David Attenborough, urging him to support climate activists in prison.

She was cleared of a charge related to failing to comply with a dispersal order after a judge ruled she had not been given sufficient time to comply.

She was also sentenced to four months behind bars in November 2021 following an Insulate Britain climate protest.

Defending, Kitan Ososami, said: "She acted on impulse. She cares very deeply about animals and marine welfare and this was the driving factor behind her committing this offence."