Jumbo stops selling live lobsters

Jumbo supermarkets will stop selling live lobsters, after years of protest by animal rights activists. A large Jumbo branch in Utrecht will get no tank for live lobsters, and branches in Amsterdam, Breda and Veghel will stop selling them, RTL Nieuws reports.

Earlier this month animal rights organization Wakker Dier made Jumbo one of the contenders for its annual liar, liar award, because of the live lobsters. The supermarket chain recommends placing the lobster in the freezer for half an hour before cooking it alive, because this will sedate the animal. "But freezing is not a proven method of sedation", Wakker Dier said.

Animal party PvdD took action to prevent the planned sale of live lobsters in a Jumbo branch in Utrecht. "The store in Utrecht is definitely not going to sell live lobsters, and in Amsterdam, Breda and Veghel Jumbo will stop selling them", PvdD member Saskia Oskam said to the broadcaster.

Jumbo would not comment to RTL why it is halting the sale of live lobsters, but did say that other live crustaceans and shellfish will remain on the shelves.