The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) warns motorists of all sorts of highway hazards, but a giant pile of discarded lobsters has got to be a first.
The OPP North East Region are seeking tips from the public after receiving multiple reports of an enormous pile of lobsters dumped “for unknown reason(s) at the shoulder of Highway 17, Bonfield” on Tuesday, July 2.
opp_northeast
LOBSTER DISPOSED OF ALONG HIGHWAY#NorthBayOPP have received calls on July 2, 2024 reporting a large quantity of lobster disposed of for unknown reason at the shoulder of Highway 17, Bonfield. Police would like to remind the public that it is illegal to litter or… pic.twitter.com/ZD3yMnvuxD
— OPP North East Region (@OPP_NER) July 4, 2024
Photos from the scene show dozens of the crustaceans in a ditch at the side of the highway, with the OPP warning that the huge quantity of dead lobsters “will cause additional safety hazards when it attracts wildlife (various) to come out of the forest and make their way onto the travelled roadways.”
Police are reminding the public that “it is illegal to litter or dump on the highway” — something you’d think would be a given, but apparently, some motorists haven’t gotten the memo.
In what might be the first-ever use of these specific words in sequence, investigators ask that “anyone with information about the discarded lobster” reach out to the OPP or Crime Stoppers.
This is not the first time in recent memory that a large quantity of animals — dead or alive — has caused disruption on Ontario highways.
In 2023, a swarm of FIVE MILLION bees being transported in Burlington fell loose from a truck, causing mayhem in the city. Weeks later, 1,500 live turkeys spilled out onto Highway 401 after a truck rollover in Chatham-Kent.
