Activist speaks out after restaurant’s pet 'lobster' died when she stole it and threw it into sea

An activist captured on camera tussling with restaurant staff before stealing the owner's pet crayfish and tossing it in the sea has described her actions as a 'spontaneous act of kindness'.

She claims she 'liberated' the marine animal, but the restaurant boss says she likely killed it, and she's been banned from coming within 10 metres of the establishment after pleading guilty to criminal damage.

Last year, Emma Smart went into the Catch at the Old Fish Market seafood restaurant in Weymouth and declared she was 'taking the lobster', which was actually a crayfish, as she plucked it from its tank and threw it into the sea.

Restaurant owner Sean Cooper said he reckons it's likely his pet crayfish - named Ronnie - died instantly on contact with the cold water from temperature shock, as it had been kept in a warm water tank.

Cooper also said that the crayfish's mate Reggie had died shortly afterwards, possibly due to the loss of its mate, and he stressed that the animals weren't in the restaurant as food but instead as pets that could also be 'educational' for diners.

You can see the CCTV footage of Smart stealing the crayfish below:

Taking to Facebook and tagging the restaurant, the activist said she'd been the target of a 'bizarre witch-hunt', saying she 'liberated that single miserable lobster' as a 'small, spontaneous act of kindness' during a time when she was at a 'dark low point' while 'navigating a mental health crisis'.

The legal proceedings, she said, were 'a weird, ego-driven vendetta', insisting that stealing the crayfish was 'a tiny necessary win against a system that is literally driving our oceans, our planet (and ultimately humanity) to collapse'.

While she'd initially been charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, theft, and assault, Smart was allowed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of criminal damage and was sentenced to an eight-month conditional discharge.

Sean Cooper claims Smart killed his pet crayfish (Catch at the Old Fish Market)

She also can't get close to the restaurant, where she'd previously been arrested for trying to confront Sir David Attenborough while he was there.

Smart, a marine biologist who previously worked for the World Wildlife Fund before turning her attention to activism, claimed she had her flat raided by police, was stripped naked and searched, held for 12 hours and subjected to 'trumped up from above' charges.

'A single act of mercy'

Catch at the Old Fish Market has been awarded a three-star rating, the highest possible, in The Sustainable Restaurant Association's Food Made Good Standard, sourcing its ingredients from local fishermen.

But, in an interview with The Canary, Smart claimed the crayfish had been kept in 'a bare, shallow tank under the bright fluorescent lights of a fishmongers hall amidst the constant clatter of a restaurant' which she says is 'undoubtedly an incredibly distressing environment for spiny lobsters'.

She also hit out at restaurant owner Cooper, writing: "I’ve actually started to feel quite sorry for the Catch at The Old Fish Market Restaurateur.

Emma Smart said she'd been subjected to a 'witch hunt' (Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

"It must be such a terrifyingly small, exhausting world to live in when a single act of mercy makes your blood boil faster than your bisque."

Describing herself as a 'peaceful female scientist' and saying she had been freeing his 'educational pet lobster', Smart accused the restaurant owner of a 'legal tantrum'.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: "At around 9pm on Thursday 10 April 2025, it was reported that a woman entered Catch at The Old Fish Market in Custom House Quay in Weymouth when the business was closed to the general public.

"A member of staff asked the woman to leave, but it was reported that she pushed them and took a lobster out of a water tank before leaving and throwing it into the harbour nearby. We will investigate all reported incidents and a proportionate investigation was carried out into what happened.

"On Monday 21 April 2025, a 48-year-old woman from Weymouth was arrested in connection with the incident. Following consultation with the CPS, she was subsequently charged on Tuesday 27 May 2025 and appeared at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 25 June 2025."

LADbible Group has contacted Catch at the Old Fish Market for comment.