A rare orange lobster was found in a grocery store tank in upstate New York. Because of our dedicated supporters, this lobster’s story has a happy ending.

A caring individual, Kyle Brancato, spotted an orange lobster at a Tops supermarket in Rochester. The lobster, later named Jean Clawd Van Damme, was taken from the store, but needed to travel all the way from Rochester to Long Island, New York. That’s when In Defense of Animals stepped in to help facilitate Jean-Clawd’s transportation. 

We reached out to supporters in the area, and so many people responded with kind words, concern, and offers to assist in his journey back to the ocean. Two dedicated supporters, David Gorman and Denise Brown, helped to relay Jean Clawd all the way from Rochester to Long Island. 

John Di Leonardo, with Humane Long Island, successfully released Jean-Clawd back to the ocean after he had time to rest from his journey and recover mobility in his claws. Jean-Clawde is now the 8th lobster who Humane Long Island has assisted back into the ocean.

Orange lobsters are very rare. Only one in every 30 million lobsters is orange due to a genetic mutation. Sadly, these lobsters often end up in grocery stores along with blue and brown lobsters, who are captured from the wild and sold from cramped tanks in grocery stores to eventually be boiled alive and eaten. These lobsters often go months without being fed, and their muscles atrophy from being banded. Luckily, this was not Jean-Clawd’s fate.

Sign our alert to ask supermarkets to stop selling all live lobsters, not just the rare orange ones, and learn more about how you can help lobsters. Please consider donating to support our mission, so that we can help save more lobsters like Jean-Clawd. It’s because of our community of animal defenders that Jean Clawd is able to have a second chance at life. Thank you for helping us give him the life that he deserves.