just thought I share an e-mail I just sent out

alexchern75

alexchern75

New member
Let me start off by mentioning that I am not an animal activist. But I do believe that everyone and everything that is alive has certain rights that we should respect.

Tonight, I stopped at the local grocery store, Raley's #239 located at 7874 Lichen Drive, Citrus Heights, Ca 95621, phone # 916-722-4535. I thought it was a nice night for fish but much to my horror I observed what I believe to be a huge infraction of animal rights...

I must admit that I love lobster (to eat), but it bothers me when I see them in the small aquarium where you are able to buy them fresh live and kicking, and ready for the boiler...boiling live lobsters is not so nice but at least they get to spend their last few days and/or hours in the water with their own kind.

What I saw tonight was really horrible...as you can see by the pictures and video, Raley's packaged live lobsters in plastic containers, barely large enough to fit the lobsters let alone allow room for movement. This package has a few holes for ventilation, but keeps the lobsters dry and cold...last time I checked, Maine lobsters are marine crustatians that require water to live in, not to mention food.....
I spoke with the butcher and he stated that he could not do a single thing about this problem. He said they did not have a lobster tank...to which I replied then maybe they should not sell lobster. I mentioned that it was inhumane, to which he replied that they could last up to two weeks like that. But he continued that the last ones they had about a month ago did not survive that long...suggesting that they died there before they were even sold.
I later spoke with the manager via phone and all he said was that the lobsters could survive 4 days under those conditions...I respectfully mentioned that he could survive for 4 days with out food as well, but that did not make such inhumane treatment appropriate.
I am forwarding this email with pictures and video to a few different news stations, PETA, and others in hopes to draw attention to this disturbing and inhumane practice of keeping live lobsters in small, dry, plastic containers designed for vegetables and other non-living types of food. It is not right to make them live out of their element in containers where they cannot move and are allowed to slowly and painfully die.
I hope this inspires similar feelings of dismay among others and eventually leads to the halt of this practice.

See attached pictures.

Here are the links to the video:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v514/alexchern75/?action=view&current=MVI_8437.flv

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v514/alexchern75/?action=view&current=MVI_8436.flv

Feel free to contact me:

Alex Chernak
916-717-5294
 
IMG_84381.jpg


IMG_8435.jpg
 
That is pitiful. I hope that you get some reactions out of your efforts that will force them to either stop selling them or to buy proper housing.
 
I'd be happy with a nice lobster tank in their store, we all have to eat, we just dont like to make our food suffer :) thanks for the reply :)
 
I agree Alex. If there intent is to sell live foods then they need to go to wallmart break down and get a cheap 50 long and air pump and a 5lb salt mix bag, maybe spending what 75 bucks? With a year or two use? I cant expect them to break down and buy food or do waterchanges, but they dont go out and get a salmon and wrap the floppin booger in celephane either >:/ So what they hay? Lobsters are on Raley's $hit list or what? Not cool at all IMO.

-Justin
 
This is a very bad thing, and I hope your letter gets someones attention. Not to mention I has to be a health hazard.

All in the name of turning a profit.
 
Very sad to see the video... They appeared to be just hanging on to life... I am glad you are standing up for this. I personally don't shop at Raley's and if I did and saw this... I wouldn't anymore. Very disconcerning....
 
That is horrible I can't even believe that they can get away with that. I mean I love a good lobster but that is just plain cruel. I definately won't be shopping there any time soon. Good luck with getting your voice heard...
Jerry
 
Alex,

I fully support your effort to get Raley's to try to treat all animals humanely and trying to get local news to highlight this inhumane treatment. However, I cringed when I found out that you are going to contact PETA - a group that has taken a good concept and has radicalized it.

There's a lot of debate on whether lobsters feel pain. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainManagement/story?id=722163&page=1

BTW - I am one of those people that love buying live crabs and boiling them for dinner. YUMMY!

Minh
 
Hey I just talked to the regional manager, according to him, these packages are more humaine, they sit on seaweed that has 70% and this keep the lobster moist.....according to him, they are much happier that way...(how did they measure lobster hapiness?)
When I touched the lobster he or she was dry!...
I know how pwta is a extreme, probably shares members with green peace, but I just want to scare them a little, I don't want them to stop selling them, I just want them to keep them in a tank...
 
Oh sure, Alex. Haven't you ever noticed how happy lobsters lay on the beach on mounds of seaweed:rolleye1:
 
That is sad to see. I live very near a Raley's and shop there all the time, I will be taking a look to see if they're doing the same thing. Just because something is going to be eventually killed for food doesn't take away from it's rights to be respected as a living creature.

If this were cows or pigs caged up in tiny boxes waiting to be killed you know it would never fly.

There are people whose job is to setup and maintain lobster tanks (cold water) for restaurants and markets, if Raleys can't fit this into their budget and floor plan they need to stop selling live (dying) lobsters.

Props to you Alex for taking action.
 
Since when did Marine Biology and telecommunication become standard training classes for retail middle managers?

This sounds worse than the veal stories you hear of baby cows in pens that cant move.

Hopefully, people will be smart and not buy these and go to a specialty store with a tank.......if so, then they won't continue to do this.
 
I agree, I also got a good response from these guys, see e-mail below:

Alex,



Wow! I’m at a total loss for words.



Raley’s has been unresponsive to our concerns in the past, but this is an all-time low for them. Thanks so much for passing it on, we’ll be sure to take action.



Happy New Year,



Matt Prescott



p.s. I assume to we can use these photos on-line if we need to, right?

_______________________________________________
Matt Prescott, Manager
Factory Farming Campaigns
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
501 Front St. ; Norfolk , VA 23510
 
peta is gonna have fun with this. I dont like them, they have done too much shady stuff in the past.

But Yeah that kinda sucks, I hope your actions get something done.
 
Please keep us posted with what comes of this. I love lobster but that's no excuse to treat a live animal like this simply in the name of a better profit margin.
 
Happy new years guys, thanks for your thoughts on this, its nice to know that we are not alone in thinking that this is not right :)
 
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