Today’s consumers are so unfamiliar with the animals on their plates that they likely don’t even know that lobsters turn red only after being boiled or that cows have to give birth in order to produce milk. And they probably don’t realize that many crabs are still alive and able to feel pain when their claws are torn off. But that’s exactly what a new PETA investigation has revealed — and it’s just one reason to leave these smart, sensitive animals off the table.
PETA’s investigator went on board a boat with workers catching crabs for Florida’s largest seller of stone crab claws. The investigator’s video footage shows workers tearing one — and often both — claws off live crabs before tossing them back into the sea. This excruciatingly painful practice — which would otherwise violate Florida’s cruelty-to-animals law — is not unique to this particular company.
Surprisingly, the state’s regulations actually require that crabs be returned to the water after their claws are torn off, supposedly to allow the claws to regenerate, which is wishful thinking, according to animal behavior experts. Professor Robert Elwood says, “The idea (that crabs) will survive and regenerate the(ir) claws is pie in the sky.”
