Eco-activist who 'freed crayfish from restaurant by throwing it into the sea' complains she's 'victim of witch-hunt'

An eco-activist who “freed crayfish from a restaurant by throwing it into the sea” complains she’s a “victim of witch-hunt”.

Emma Smart, 48, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court earlier this month after removing a crayfish from its tank at Catch at the Old Fish Market in Weymouth, Dorset, on April 10, 2025.

She then threw the crustacean into the nearby harbour.

Smart pleaded guilty to criminal damage and received an eight-month conditional discharge, along with a three-year restraining order banning her from coming within ten metres of the restaurant.

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Rather than expressing remorse however, the marine biologist and environmental activist has since defended her actions publicly.

In a Facebook post, she described the incident as "a small, spontaneous act of kindness" and said it had been worth it to draw attention to the threat posed by climate change to the world's oceans, The Times reports.

She wrote: "They call it criminal damage, I call it crustacean jailbreak."

Smart continued saying she had been at a "dark, low point" at the time, navigating a mental health crisis driven by what she described as "months of workplace bullying".

She accused restaurant owner Sean Cooper of pursuing a "legal tantrum" against a "peaceful scientist".

Smart also claimed that following the incident, her home was raided by four police officers, that she was "stripped naked and searched", held in custody for 12 hours and faced what she called five "ridiculous, trumped-up" charges before a "year of ridiculous legal process".

She described the outcome as a "witch-hunt - a weird ego-driven vendetta enabled by a system that is, naturally, designed to protect the feelings of old, white, wealthy, influential men".

Mr Cooper, however, told the BBC the crayfish almost certainly died the moment it hit the water.

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He said the temperature difference between the tank and the harbour would have caused fatal thermal shock.

"The travesty of the whole thing is that the animal will have died the second it hit the water," he said.

Mr Cooper said Smart had thrown the creature "with great force -like a cricket ball - there was no gentle release".

The crustacean was one of two kept at the restaurant for educational purposes, named Ronnie and Reggie by locals and had been in the tank for around two and a half years.

Shortly after the incident, the second crayfish died, with the restaurant owner saying he did not know whether "the loss of its mate had an impact on that".

Smart had believed she was rescuing a lobster destined for the kitchen, but the animal was not on the menu.

Mr Cooper said his restaurant, which has won awards for its commitment to sustainable fishing, had been targeted by someone "ignorant and misguided" about what the venue stood for.

He said he was "deeply disappointed" that the more serious charges, including unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and assault, were dropped in favour of a lesser guilty plea.

In her online post, Smart made no apology and expressed no sympathy for either crustacean.

It is not the first time Smart has clashed with the restaurant.

In 2022, she was arrested there after attempting to approach Sir David Attenborough, who was dining at the venue and refusing to leave.

She also served four months in prison in November 2021 for breaching an injunction during an Insulate Britain protest.

A Dorset Police spokesman said a "proportionate investigation was carried out".

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