Animal rights activist defends 'crustacean jailbreak' after conviction for throwing pet lobster into harbour

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

The creature had belonged to 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 companion also 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.

But breaking her silence, Smart doubled down on her actions which she described as a "crustacean jailbreak" and criticised Mr Cooper for his efforts to have her prosecuted.

Taking to social media, Smart admitted that she was at a "dark low" suffering from a "mental health crisis" when she "liberated that single miserable lobster" from the restaurant.

She claimed she had her flat raided by four police officers, before being stripped naked, searched and then held in police custody for 12 hours, and said authorities launched a "bizarre witch-hunt" against her.

Taking aim at Mr Cooper, said: "What a selfless 'Community Champion' – forcing the public to pay for his therapy-by-litigation while he hawks £95 tasting menus to a town that can barely afford the bus fare.

"It must be such a terrifyingly small, exhausting world to live in when a single act of mercy makes your blood boil faster than your bisque."

Smart previously had a brush with the law after appearing 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.

Outlining the facts for the most recent incident, prosecutor Ben Thompson told the court: "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 said the lobster was "not there for consumption".

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

Kitan Ososami, defending Smart, 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."

A spokesman for Dorset Police told LBC: "At around 9pm on Thursday, April 10, 2025, it was reported that a woman entered Catch at The Old Fish Market in Custom House Quay in Weymouth when the business was closed to the general public.

"A member of staff asked the woman to leave, but it was reported that she pushed them and took a lobster out of a water tank before leaving and throwing it into the harbour nearby.

"We will investigate all reported incidents and a proportionate investigation was carried out into what happened. On Monday, April 21, 2025, a 48-year-old woman from Weymouth was arrested in connection with the incident. 

"Following consultation with the CPS, she was subsequently charged on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 and appeared at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, June 25 2025."

Mr Cooper previously revealed the victim was in fact a crayfish, a species usually found in the warmer waters of the Mediterranean, that had been caught with its tankmate by fisherman in the English Channel and donated to the restaurant.