80-year-old lobster given new lease of ocean life by PETA

New York, January 10 (ANI): A hefty lobster, around 80 years old, is set to taste the ocean water again after animal rights activist lobbied a local Manhattan restaurant for its release.

George, the Giant Lobster, had been displayed by executive chef Joseph Vaina and manager Keith Valenti on a massive platter by the lobster tank and at the raw bar since he arrived at the Park Avenue.

According to Vaina, the lobster, weighing 20 pounds, had been taken care of as a pet and was never to be sold or consumed, reports the New York Daily News.

George was spotted by a patron, who decided to call People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which further lobbied the restaurant for his release.

PETA spokesman Michael McGraw said: "We're really eager to return him to freedom."

The crustacean is being taken in a special ice-lined foam cooler to Portsmouth, N.H., where an expert would aide "ease his transition" back into the deep blue.

George would then be headed to Maine, where he would taste freedom in protected waters just north of Kennebunkport. (ANI)