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Food

Canadian Monks Bought 600 Pounds of Live Lobsters and Released Them in the Ocean

Over 600 pounds of lobsters are now scuttling peacefully on the ocean floor of eastern Canada rather than wallowing in butter and garlic, thanks to the efforts of a group of Buddhist monks.

Over 600 pounds of lobsters are now scuttling peacefully on the ocean floor of eastern Canada rather than wallowing in butter and garlic, thanks to the efforts of a group of Buddhist monks.

Members of the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society in Prince Edward Island purchased and subsequently released eight crates of these fortunate crustaceans this past Saturday.

"Hopefully, we can find a spot where there are no cages waiting for them," Venerable Dan, one of the monks, told CBC News.

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The group of monks held a 20-minute ceremony with prayers and chanting for the lobsters before boarding a fishing boat and taking them out to sea.

"We respect everyone's dietary choice," said Dan, "so we're not doing this to convert everybody to be vegetarians or vegans."

"This whole purpose for us is to cultivate this compassion toward others. It doesn't have to be lobsters, it can be worms, flies, any animals, drive slower so we don't run over little critters on the street."

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The group also stated that fishermen from the island, rather than opposing their mission, actually helped them to find a suitable location to deposit the lobsters where they wouldn't be captured again.

It's unclear how much the monks spent in order to free the captive crustaceans, but it was likely quite a lot. In a world where even McDonald's is selling a lobster roll meal for nearly 15 dollars, the monks' message has been made loud and clear.