Giant ‘Hermit Crab’ to Protest Ocean City Crab Races

For Immediate Release:
August 17, 2026

Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382

“Shell No! Stop Racing Crabs!” That’s the message a larger-than-life “hermit crab” trapped in a tank will bring to the Ocean City Boardwalk on Wednesday outside the Miss Crustacean Beauty Pageant and Hermit Crab Races. PETA supporters will call on organizers to keep the quirky shore tradition but stop using live animals by switching to robotic crabs—which PETA has offered to provide. The action follows PETA’s letter to Mayor Jay Gillian, urging the city to spare real crabs the stress of being handled, confined, and raced for entertainment.

“Hermit crabs are thinking, feeling individuals who belong on the seashore, not in plastic tanks, painted shells, or race lanes on the boardwalk,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “Ocean City can keep the fun and ditch the cruelty by letting robotic crabs take the track instead.”

When: Wednesday, August 19, 5:30 p.m.

Where: Near the intersection of 6th Street and the Boardwalk, Ocean City

Why: Hermit crabs are complex, social animals who live in large colonies and can survive for decades in nature. Yet crabs displayed, sold, or raced in seaside tourist settings are often treated as disposable novelties. Many die shortly after purchase because their needs for proper humidity, space, and companionship cannot be met in the small plastic containers in which they are commonly kept. Because hermit crabs do not readily breed in captivity, they are routinely taken from coastal habitats and sold in boardwalk shops and pet stores, which frequently force them into painted shells despite their toxicity to crabs.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and fear, a crab is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.