Hermit Crabs Belong on the Shores—NOT in Stores!
When tourists visit beach stores looking for souvenirs, they should not be able to buy animals. However, shoppers who lack the knowledge, resources, or desire to meet the extraordinarily specialized husbandry needs of hermit crabs end up buying countless crabs as “pets” every year.
Taken from their homes, roughly handled, peddled as cheap trinkets, confined to small “habitats,” fed improper diets, and forgotten when the novelty wears off, these animals are doomed from the moment they’re captured.
In nature, hermit crabs travel in colonies that number up to 100, and can live for as long as 40 years. In captivity, they typically die between the ages of 1 and 4.
Please help hermit crabs trapped in beach stores by contacting each store and asking them to stop selling live animals.
1. Politely email stores selling hermit crabs. Ask the stores to please do the right thing and adopt a policy that prohibits the sale and display of live animals. Explain that hermit crabs live complex lives in groups of up to 100 individuals that tanks or cages will never be able to provide them with.
2. Contact the stores by phone. Ask the staff member who answers to take a message and urge the store to reconsider its sale of live hermit crabs to customers who likely do not have the ability to properly care for them. Let them know that hermit crabs live complex lives that a small tank or cage will never be able to provide them with.
3. Contact the stores on social media. Urge each store to consider the complex needs of the species and realize that they will only suffer and die alone in small tanks unless the stores end the sale of all live animals, and ensure the crabs they currently have are placed with a reputable hermit crab rescue.
Feel free to use our sample letter, but using your own words is always more effective.
Please Stop Selling Hermit Crabs in Your Stores!
I was horrified to learn your store sells hermit crabs. You offer so many harmless products that tourists can enjoy without causing the suffering of thousands of animals. Please do the right thing and adopt a policy prohibiting the sale and display of live animals.
Every year, countless people give in to temptation and purchase hermit crabs on a whim as “pets,” but very few have the knowledge required to meet the animals’ specialized husbandry needs or the inclination to commit to the years-long responsibility of caring for them. In the wild, these sentient, shy animals naturally shun human contact, travel in colonies that number up to 100, and live up to 40 years. But when kept in captivity, they typically die between the ages of 1 and 4. Taken from their natural homes, peddled as cheap trinkets, confined to small “habitats,” roughly handled, fed improper diets, and forgotten when the novelty wears off, these animals are doomed from the moment they’re captured.
Thank you for considering my comments.
4. Fill out Wildside Beachwear’s online contact form to ask the store to reconsider selling hermit crabs. No amount of money is worth the suffering and early death that these animals will likely endure inside a cage.
5. Share this page. Share this page with friends and family to make a greater impact on the lives of these imprisoned crabs.
Thank you for your compassion for animals.
