Abandoned lobsters at Chinese restaurant triggers complaints

A tank of lobsters has been abandoned at a Chinese restaurant on the Gold Coast that closed its doors a fortnight ago.

The lobsters can be seen from the street despite being covered with a tablecloth in an incident dubbed by Councillor Hermann Vorster as a “lobster cover up”.

A poster on the restaurant’s window said the restaurant would be undergoing an internal renovation and would “reopen as soon as possible.”

However, one has already died, with Vorster receiving a number of complaints from the public, prompting him to contact the RSPCA.

“The restaurant had gone belly up for the last two weeks, the problem is they dealt with live seafood, and some of it had clearly been left behind,” he told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

“We wanted someone to get in touch with the owners to get it sorted out, it was a public appeal for the situation to mobilise the RSPCA.

“You could see one had already died, so hopefully they will be rescued.”

The RSPCA said they contacted the owners but “there is limited action we can take as the RSPCA has no jurisdiction over crustaceans under the Animal Care and protection act”.

“The owners have however told us they would be providing care for the lobsters,” the RSPCA said.

Vorster said he realised the lobsters are there to be eaten but felt leaving them to die of starvation is cruel.

 “It is very macabre putting the animals on display just watching them waste away,” he said.

Sheridan Randall, 10^th July 2019