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The Case of the Lobster, a “Living, Sentient Creature”
Description
In a bold legal challenge that could redefine animal protection law, PETA is taking on the Maine Lobster Festival for steaming 16,000 lobsters alive on public parkland. The case hinges on Maine’s unique animal cruelty statute that protects “every living sentient creature” – a definition that evolves with scientific understanding. PETA’s Director of Litigation, Asher Smith, explains their creative approach using public nuisance law and the public trust doctrine to bring this case to court despite not being a prosecuting authority.
This episode explores:
- How Maine’s progressive animal cruelty law provides protection based on scientific evidence of sentience rather than species classification
- The substantial scientific consensus that lobsters can feel pain, supported by behavioral, neurological, and physiological evidence
- PETA’s innovative legal strategy combining public nuisance claims with the public trust doctrine to challenge the festival
- How international scientific authorities and other countries have already recognized decapod sentience and banned cruel cooking methods
- The recent victory against the University of Washington that exposed corruption in animal experimentation oversight and achieved unprecedented transparency
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Asher Smith is Director of Litigation at the PETA Foundation. His current cases include actions under the Endangered Species Act against roadside zoos abusively keeping protected animals, constitutional lawsuits on behalf of both animals and humans, and false advertising claims challenging the deceptive marketing of animal products as “humane.” He has previously won precedent-setting victories against multiple exhibitors featured on the Netflix show Tiger King, as well as Vital Farms and Pete and Gerry’s Organics, the seller of Nellie’s Free Range Eggs. Smith joined the PETA Foundation in 2018 after working for the law firm Paul, Weiss on matters including multibillion-dollar securities litigation and the fight for gay marriage in the deep south and at the Supreme Court. He is a graduate of Yale Law School. His family includes a cat, Princessa, and a dog, Beezus.
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