Ocean City, N.J. - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has announced they will be protesting Wednesday’s Hermit Crab Races in Ocean City. The protest follows a letter sent to Mayor Jay Gillian asking the city if they would use robotic crabs instead of real hermit crabs.
In a press release, PETA said “Shell No! Stop Racing Crabs!” announcing a protest of the event with a display of a large hermit crab in a tank. PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien said “Hermit crabs are thinking, feeling individuals who belong on the seashore, not in plastic tanks, painted shells, or race lanes on the boardwalk,” adding “Ocean City can keep the fun and ditch the cruelty by letting robotic crabs take the track instead.”
Hermit Crab Races, via Ocean City Chamber of Commerce
The event is free to participants and spectators, and scheduled to take place starting at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 19th in Ocean City, NJ, at the intersection of 6th & Boardwalk. The City of Ocean City has not formally responded to the protest.