Show Compassion to Crustaceans (and octopuses!)
Crabs are super-cute creatures who walk sideways with their 10 legs, but are able to walk in all directions. They communicate by drumming and waving their pincers and have 360 degree vision, so can see in all directions.
Like other crustaceans, crabs have a central nervous system, which means they can feel pain, so don’t let those who sell or cook them tell you otherwise. It’s been proven that declawed crabs try to shield and nurse their wounds.
Ban Selling & Cooking of Live Crabs
Crustacean Compassion campaigns to stop the sale of live crustaceans in shops (and online retailers that send them to people’s homes). It also wants and end to non-trained people allowed to kill them (the only ‘humane death’ is with stunning equipment, that most people don’t own or know how to use). Sign the petition to ask the government to act.
It also wants an end to selling live creatures in tanks (it also campaigns to stop octopuses being eatne alive, and better welfare for squid (calamari) and cuttlefish )dried versions are often used to entertain budgies). Also read of reasons not to eat lobsters .
Surveys sound that all supermarkets (bar Marks & Spencer and Waitrose) have hardly any welfare policy for selling crustaceans. Even though by law, they are now recognised as sentient beings.
Hermit Crabs and the Cost of Litter
Hermit crabs rely on empty shells for homes. So today many are climbing into bottle tops and other rubbish. Volunteer beach cleans remove deadly litter, meaning hermit crabs and other coastal animals stay safe.
Many Crabs Get Hurt During Crabbing
Crabbing (catching live crabs in buckets to show children, then releasing them) is not as harmless as it sounds. Many suffer from over-crowding, poor water quality and long exposure to the sun, when out of the water.
Many also get injured or killed, and some are forgotten about and left behind. Teach your children about nature instead. And leave crabs in their watery homes.
If you want to learn more about crabs, read Life Between the Tides that teaches about the creatures that inhabit our shoreline.
Plant-Based Alternatives to Crab
If you like the taste of crab meat, there are plenty of plant-based alternatives! These vegan crab cakes (A Couple Cooks) use hearts of palm with old bay spice (multi-stemmed hearts of palm are more sustainable than single-stemmed – better yet sub with local canned artichokes).
Avoid seaweed for thyroid/iodine issues. Read more on food safety for people & pets (many human foods including onion, garlic, mushrooms and spices are unsafe near animals).
- Artichoke Crab Cakes (It Doesn’t Feel Like Chicken) are simple to make, and add a little nori seaweed, to make them tasty ‘fishy’.
- Look in stores for vegan crab cakes by Good Catch and The Plant-Based Seafood Company (both endorsed by top chefs). Recycle packaging at kerbside or supermarket bag bins.
Lobsters are huge creatures (they are blue, only orange when people cook them) that live for up to 100 years in the wild (when not eating each other, they do have cannibal tendencies). They also keep the ocean clean, eating leftover fish, and help control sea urchin numbers.
Lobsters are mostly solitary – but spiny lobsters ‘hold hands’ while migrating across the ocean!
New evidence shows that like crabs, lobsters have central nervous systems so can feel pain. And the only ‘humane way’ to kill them is through stunning, and most people don’t have the skill or equipment to d this. Freezing them while alive or stabbing in the head are not acceptable humane ways of cooking. They also struggle terribly, when cooked alive in boiling water.
End Live Sales: Compassion in Supermarkets
The charity Crustacean Compassion (which campaigns to stop the sale of live lobsters and crabs) wants it to be illegal for non-trained people to kill them. They also want the end of selling live crustaceans in overcrowded tanks, and an end for langoustines (scampi) having their tails ripped off (while alive) for the food industry.
They are also trying to ban the eating of live octopus, and even campaign for welfare of cuttlefish (dried versions often used to entertain bored budgies in cages).
When doing surveys with supermarkets, it found that all (bar Marks & Spencer and Waitrose) have hardly any welfare policy for selling crustaceans. Even though by law, they are now recognised as sentient beings.
Sign the petition to ask the government to act.
Although well-meaning, releasing lobsters from salt water to freshwater (or the other way around) usually won’t save them as they will die anyway. This is due to different water temperatures (lobsters are cannibals and may well eat declawed lobsters).
Plant-Based Alternatives to Lobster Meat
If you like the taste of lobster, there are many plant-based alternatives. If using hearts of palm, choose multi-stemmed varieties (not single-stemmed) Or better yet, sub with local canned artichokes.
This vegan lobster roll (Veggie Desserts) is made with hearts of palm (or use canned artichokes) along with celery, red onion, lemon juice, chives and Old Bay Season with vegan mayo.
Avoid seaweed for thyroid/iodine issues. Read more on food safety for people & pets (many human foods including onion, garlic, mushrooms and spices are unsafe near animals).
The Octopus (the plural is octopuses or octopi) is one of the world’s most fascinating creatures. These ‘intelligent aliens’ have eight arms, three hearts, and can sense light with their skin!
They use black ink to inject prey (mostly crabs). And have such good memories that one stranded octopus returned the next day to thank holiday makers for putting him back in the water and saving his life!
The common octopus found off England’s shores has a brain-to-body ratio that means it’s more intelligent than your average brainy dog. Two thirds of this creature’s neurons are in the arms, so they ‘think for themselves’, reacting to touch and taste, without waiting for orders from the brain!
Related to squid (common in England water) and cuttlefish (dried shells are used to amuse budges), they can even change colour and texture, to match their environment. And when danger lurks, they can therefore vanish in plain sight. Octopuses zoom around the sea, powered by shooting jets of water.
Yet many end up in aquariums. One did not like a volunteer, and would shoot water at her, when she visited. She left and returned months later. The octopus took one look at her, and squirted water at her again.
Campaigning for Sentience Laws
There is a campaign by Crustacean Compassion to recognise octopuses as sentient beings (which they obviously are). At present, some places abroad even eat these amazing creatures, while they are still alive.
The sad end for all females is that they die after giving birth. They simply stop eating, after the eggs have hatched. This is believed to be a selfless act, to stop hungry mothers eating their young.
Compassion in World Farming has a free report to download (in several languages) on reasons why factory farming of octopuses should never be allowed. These include being solitary by nature, being carnivorous (they would eat each other), and little known of their welfare needs.
Their fragile skeletons could also be easily damaged in tanks. In the US, Washington State has become the first place worldwide to place a ban on octopus farming.
Beach Cleans Help Octopus Habitats
Volunteer beach cleans are a great way to keep these eight-limbed friends safe, as they are so intelligent, they will investigate fishing nets and other marine litter.
Make Or Buy Vegan Calamari (squid)
If you like the taste of calamari or squid, there are many plant-based alternatives. If using hearts of palm, choose multi-stemmed varieties (not single-stemmed) Or better yet, sub with local canned artichokes. Try this recipe for vegan calamari with garlic aioli (A Pinch of Parsley).
Avoid seaweed for thyroid/iodine issues. Read more on food safety for people & pets (many human foods including onion, garlic, mushrooms and spices are unsafe near animals).
- Revo Foods (Austria) has become the first company on earth to make a top quality ‘vegan octopus’ using fungi protein.
- Look in stores for Nature’s Charm Calamari, a tinned food made with mushrooms, capers, seaweed and salt. Or Happiee! Breaded Vegan Calamari or Squidiee Rings!
