Originally published at: Man keeps grocery story lobster as a pet | Boing Boing
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He used to keep a ferret as a pet, but that’s a different story. 
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Hopefully that will also extend to the practice of literally tearing them apart while they are still alive.
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Simpsons did it His name was Pinchy, and he was delicious.
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That video was delightful - just the unicorn chaser I needed.
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What is this thing called “grocery story” and where can I get a lobster right now?
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I’m thinking of the scene in The Tick where Joan is lobster-sitting for Lobstercules’ babies…
“Jooooooaaaan!”
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I keep hearing in my head Steve West of the 91X fame playing Rock Lobster / B52’s. Gosh those were the days. It was released in April of 1978, now that is something…
And: Fred Schneider of The B-52s stopped eating crustaceans at the age of four after going crabbing with his family in New Jersey and watching the crabs get boiled alive.
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This is still one of the best SNL sketches in recent years…
Just amazing from beginning to end…
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Okay, serious question: are there complex organisms that don’t feel pain? I have family that justifies doing catch-and-release fishing as a hobby by saying “fish don’t feel pain,” but I don’t buy it. Surely reacting to negative physical stimuli is something that develops pretty early on evolutionarily.
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When I was in 3rd grade the class was assigned to write a story about a pet–real of fictional. I choose to write about a fictional lobster bought at the local Shop-Rite.
In the same era in a nearby town there was a restaurant with a large model of a lobster above its sign. The name of the restaurant…Leon’s.
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Tell me the grocery story, Grandpa!
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This one’s called Goldilocks and the 3 lobsters…
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Serious answer: there is a subtle difference between pain and nociception, the detection of harm. Pain has a psychological element that can, but does not always, coexist with nociception.
Fish have shown nociception with little to no pain. Fish will repeat self-harming behavior if there is an instinctive drive behind the behavior, such as feeding, spawning, or migration.
So your family members are kinda right.
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Thank you! I appreciate the explanation.
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Are lobsters cuddly? I know humanoids keep non-cuddly critters as ‘pets’ - see my nephew’s stinky fringed iguana - but how much does a ‘pet’ lobster appreciate friendly human interaction? Sure, lounging in a household tank or salt pool is better (for the lobster) than being eaten right away. But now you’ve broken nature’s food chain. Sad.
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