GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. -- A Colorado restaurant owner and an animal right's group are wrangling over a game in which patrons use a toy crane to catch lobsters out of a tank to get a free dinner.

JD's Bait Shop owner Dennis McCann was going to remove the game after a customer complained but now he says he won't after the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote him a letter accusing him of "abusing animals for cheap amusement."

PETA Vice President Tracy Reiman is boiling mad and said the game -- known as the "Lobster Zone" -- is a form of torture for the lobsters.

"Incarcerating lobsters in filthy tanks inside a boisterous club, making an abusive game out of their capture, and finally boiling them to death is every bit as reprehensible as tormenting cats, dogs, or any other animal," he said in a release.

The Denver Dumb Friends League investigated after an anonymous complaint was filed and said it found the lobster tank in compliance with all regulations.

McCann said several dozen of his customers are now telling him to stand up to PETA and keep the game. McCann says he doesn't want PETA telling him how to run his Greenwood Village restaurant and will not remove the game until they leave him alone.