Animal activist Emma Smart kills crayfish she ‘rescued’ from restaurant after throwing it in freezing water

An animal activist’s dramatic “rescue” has backfired in spectacular fashion — with the creature she tried to save likely killed the moment it hit the ocean.

Emma Smart stormed a Michelin-listed restaurant and grabbed what she thought was a lobster destined for the dinner plate.

But in a twist dripping with irony, the animal was actually a Mediterranean crayfish — a warm water species — that Smart hurled straight into freezing saltwater where it had little chance of survival.

The crustacean had been kept for years by Catch at the Old Fish Market owner Anthony Cooper as an educational pet. With a tank mate, they were known as “Ronnie and Reggie”.

CCTV captured Smart charging into the venue, wrestling past staff and flinging the animal into Weymouth Harbour “like a cricket ball”.

Instead of saving it, the sudden shock of cold, salty water is believed to have killed it almost instantly.

Tragically, its companion later died too — possibly from stress or the loss of its longtime tank mate.

Smart admitted to criminal damage in court, telling the judge that she acted on impulse out of concern for animal welfare.

But the court was told that the crustacean was never intended for consumption — only for display and education.

Judge Susan Evans labelled the act “deeply misguided”, while Cooper said that he was left “deeply disappointed” by the outcome.