Hey, Joe’s Crab Shack: ‘I’m ME, Not MEAT,’ Proclaims Crab on New PETA Billboard

Ads Near Seafood Restaurants in Broadway at the Beach Urge Diners to See All Animals as Individuals and Go Vegan

For Immediate Release:
October 8, 2018

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Just in time for National Seafood Month, and after stirring up controversy in Baltimore, PETA’s massive crab billboard has landed near the Broadway at the Beach shopping center—where Joe’s Crab Shack and several other restaurants serve crabs, lobsters, and other sea animals—to proclaim, “I’m ME, Not MEAT. See the Individual. Go Vegan.”

The billboard is located on U.S. Route 17 across from the Commons Avenue exit to Seaboard Street.

“Just like dogs, cats, and humans, crabs feel pain and fear, have unique personalities, and value their own lives,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s billboard is a reminder that we can spare these and other sensitive animals the agony of being torn apart or boiled alive simply by choosing vegan meals.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that crabs are complex, sentient beings who clean their homes and develop relationships and that some even greet each other by waving their claws. The European Food Safety Authority has classified crabs among animals who “are able to experience pain and distress.” But a PETA investigation of a crustacean slaughterhouse revealed that live crabs were impaled, torn apart, and decapitated—even as their legs continued to move.

PETA offers a free vegan starter kit (available here) full of recipes, tips, and more. For more information, please visit PETA.org.