PETA ‘Mermaid’ to Dish Up Crabless Cakes for Beachgoers

For Immediate Release:
September 15, 2021

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

Tomorrow, a shimmering “mermaid” with PETA will pass out The Rabbit Hole’s celebrated vegan crab cakes—which are covered with crispy breadcrumbs, fragrant Cajun spices, and a house-made remoulade—for free to beachgoers. The event coincides with two splashy new billboards in Miami and Fort Lauderdale that ask everyone to recognize animals as individuals and go vegan.

When:    Thursday, September 16, 12 noon

Where:    At the intersection of E. Las Olas and Fort Lauderdale Beach boulevards, Fort Lauderdale

“Crabs feel pain and fear when they’re torn apart or boiled alive, just as humans would,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “And because fish-free options are humane and cholesterol-free, PETA reminds everyone that vegan eating benefits us all.”

A PETA investigation into a crustacean slaughterhouse revealed that live crabs were impaled, torn apart, and decapitated—even as their legs continued to move. Chefs typically place live crabs into pots of boiling water while they’re still conscious. Fish slowly suffocate or are crushed to death when they’re dragged from the ocean in huge nets, and the throats and stomachs of those who survive are cut open on the decks of fishing boats. More fish are killed for food each year—billions in U.S. waters alone—than all other animals combined.

PETA’s billboards are at these locations:

• 6593 FL-822, Fort Lauderdale
• I-95 exit for I-41/S.W. Seventh Street and Brickell Avenue, Miami

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—notes that today, many faux-fish options are available, including Gardein’s Golden Fishless Filets, Good Catch’s Plant-Based Tuna, New Wave Foods’ new plant-based shrimp, and Sophie’s Kitchen’s Vegan Crab Cakes. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.