A woman in Canada has sparked a national debate after she paid a seafood store $230 (R2500) to release an enormous 10kg lobster back into the wild.
The lobster, named King Louie, was caught by Rodney MacDonald in the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, one of eastern Canada’s Maritime provinces. MacDonald took the large animal to his family’s seafood store, the Alma Lobster Shop, where he then shared a photo of the 1,2m long specimen.
Comments came flooding in from across the country, and the lobster, which is estimated to be about 100 years old, was soon in the middle of a heated debate around morality, and what should actually be done with King Louie.
In the end, Katie Conklin who lives nearly 350kms away in Nova Scotia paid the money to the family on the grounds that King Louie be released back into the sea.
MacDonald was then filmed taking King Louie to the centre of the bay to release him.
“Rodney MacDonald did what comes unnaturally to a lobster fisherman: put [the] lobster back in the water,” CTV News reported.
As he was about to lower the lobster into the water even MacDonald was moved into saying, “Thank you Katie.” Researchers have suggested that King Louis is highly likely to go on and live whatever passes for a productive lobster life.
Speaking to CTV News, Conklin said she hopes the lobster lives out a “happy life” in his natural habitat and passes his genes onto the next generation.
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