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Owner rages after theftActivist wants to save sea creature from restaurant – and kills it instead
Activist Emma Smart ends up in court because of her alleged rescue operation.
Instagram/smartyfish
This “rescue mission” backfired badly…
Activist Emma Smart sneaks into a fish restaurant with a clear plan: she wants to save one of the animals from the tanks at the entrance! The Welsh woman is sure that she can save a lobster from dying in the cooking pot. With her break-in, she instead causes a tragedy – to the great sadness of the owner.
Activist Emma Smart confuses cancer with lobster
The animal that Smart pulls out of one of the aquariums at the Catch at the Old Fish Market restaurant in Weymouth, England, is not a lobster, but a crayfish. When she throws the supposed sea creature into the water from the harbor a little later, the activist wants to give him freedom – and probably brings him death. Crayfish would not survive the sudden difference in water temperature, restaurant owner Sean Cooper tells the BBC.
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The crab lived with a fellow crab in the aquarium for two and a half years and was not for sale. Instead, he caused great enthusiasm among visitors. “We even have a video of one of the animals shedding its skin in the middle of the night, which was really amazing. We can show that to children and explain to them how crayfish and lobsters grow and develop over the years.”
After Smart's theft in April 2025, the second cancer has now died, possibly from loneliness, as the Sun reports. Now the activist is on trial.
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Restaurant owner very disappointed after verdict
There, her defense attorney explained that Smart had “acted impulsively,” writes the British newspaper. “She cares very deeply about animals and protecting the oceans. That was the main reason she committed this act.” Judge Susan Evans speaks of an “extremely unwise decision” – but still shows mercy in the sentence.
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Smart will receive an eight-month conditional discharge and a three-year restraining order prohibiting her from coming within 10 meters of the restaurant, staff or patrons. For owner Sean Cooper, a “very disappointing” outcome to the proceedings. Catch at the Old Fish Market, which has won awards for its commitment to sustainable fishing through direct trade with local boats, aims to celebrate the “fishing community in Weymouth”.
“That’s why we all exist, so it’s especially annoying to be targeted by someone who has no idea about our work and is misinformed.”
