PETA lawsuit takes aim at Maine Lobster Festival, says boiling lobsters is unlawful and cruel

People for the Ethical Medicine of Animals PETA has disclosed a lawsuit against the Maine Lobster Festival claiming that boiling lobsters alive is unlawful and cruel The animal rights organization cites a Maine law prohibiting the torture and torment of animals and asks the court to declare the festival a masses nuisance In a comment PETA says in part These sentient creatures are painfully scalded to death through prolonged exposure to superheated steam without prior stunning mechanical destruction of the brain or any method intended to render them insensible to pain The festival begins on Wednesday and runs through Sunday in Rockland Maine