Crustacean Compassion

02/05/2026

Join us on Crustacean Compassion Day 2026 for a special anniversary webinar marking 10 years of progress in protecting decapod crustaceans.

✨ Celebrating a decade of decapod protections: Influence, Innovation and Impact. ✨
📅 10 June 2026, 1-2:30pm

We will be exploring Influence, Innovation, and Impact, reflecting on key milestones from the past decade and looking ahead to the future of animal welfare. Hear first-hand insights from the teams at CC, alongside leading voices from science, industry and advocacy who are driving meaningful, lasting change worldwide.

🟠 Wendy Turner‑Webster: TV presenter, producer, award‑winning animal rights campaigner, and Crustacean Compassion's very own Ambassador
🟠 Dr Sean Wensley: Animal welfare researcher and advocate, former President of the British Veterinary Association, and author bringing decades of policy and veterinary experience.
🟠 Stefan Tijsen: Fisheries and aquaculture innovator, working at the forefront of welfare technology and sustainable fishing methods.
🟠 Dr Andrew Crump: Lecturer in Animal Cognition and Welfare at the Royal Veterinary College and a leading expert on crustacean sentience, instrumental in the UK Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022.

👉 Register now: https://buff.ly/drl8Qy7

01/05/2026

01/05/2026

We hope you are moving into the Bank Holiday weekend just like crabs do!

That famous sideways walk isn’t just a funny crab quirk. New research shows it likely comes from a shared ancient ancestor, meaning crabs have been moving this way for hundreds of millions of years. Scientists found that crab bodies and nervous systems are specially coordinated to support sideways movement, making it an efficient, evolved behaviour — not a simple habit.

Crabs are highly adapted, complex animals, shaped by a long evolutionary history. Behaviours like movement aren’t random, they’re deeply wired into who crabs are.

As you shuffle into the weekend, take a moment to appreciate these intelligent, fascinating animals… and why protecting their welfare truly matters.

➡️ Read more: Crab sideways movement explained https://buff.ly/Wq4Swpd

01/05/2026

🦞 Did you know, some lobsters are born half one colour, half another?

This extremely rare phenomenon is caused by chimerism, where a lobster develops from two different sets of genetic instructions at once. The result can be a striking lobster with one side dark and the other side bright orange, something estimated to occur in only one in tens of millions.

26/04/2026

🦀 Happy World Crab Day! 🦀

Today we celebrate our crab-ulous 10-legged friends – not just cute side-shufflers, but one of evolution’s greatest hits!

There are over 7,000 species of crabs on Earth, living everywhere from coral reefs and mangroves to deep sea rivers and even in forests and trees. They come in an incredible variety of sizes, colours and lifestyles – from the tiny pea crab to the mighty king crab.

Even more so, evolution keeps turning other animals into crabs, a process known as ‘carcinisation’ - the process where different animals independently evolve into a crab-shaped body. And why this? The crab body is favourable for survival:
💫 A compact, armoured hard outer shell
💫 Quick, sideways movement
💫 Powerful claws for feeding and defence

Amongst the thousands of species of this amazing animal, although living different lives all fall under the same bracket – they are sentient intelligent animals that deserve our respect, compassion and protection.

25/04/2026

🌍🐠 World Veterinary Day 2026 🐠🌍

Today we recognise veterinarians as guardians of food and health, protecting animals, people, and the systems that connect us all.

But veterinary care shouldn’t stop at fur and feathers - guardianship must extend beyond land. From the moment a crab or lobster is pulled from the sea, every step of the sea‑to‑plate journey affects animal welfare, food safety, and public trust.

So whether farm-to-fork or sea-to-plate, we are grateful for veterinary expertise that sets welfare standards, and ensures that food systems are not only productive, but humane sustainable too.

Decapod crustaceans like crabs, lobsters, and prawns are legally recognised as sentient, yet their welfare is still too often overlooked in practice, policy, and protection. Vets have a vital role to play in changing that — from influencing standards to advocating for better treatment across industries.

🦀 Read more in our blog:
https://buff.ly/zkTH5Y6

24/04/2026

World Day for Animals in Laboratories - even those not counted

In UK research, decapod crustaceans have no legal protection. Their exclusion from legislation means their use in scientific procedures is not officially recorded.

They are not counted. But they count.

Our FOI data shows that at least 10,000 crustaceans were used in UK university experiments in 2023–2024. In 2019, over 10,000 crustaceans were used in one university alone. And without inclusion in official statistics, the true number is almost certainly far higher.

Crabs. Prawns. Shrimp.
Sentient animals - treated as if they don’t count.

➡️ It’s time to change that: https://buff.ly/msT1MA3

22/04/2026

World Earth Day — Our Power, Our Planet 🌍

This Earth Day, we’re reflecting on how our power shapes our planet — and the lives of the animals who share it with us.

Crabs, lobsters and other crustaceans play a vital role in ocean ecosystems, yet their welfare is often overlooked. The good news? Our choices, our voices, and our compassion can change that.

This Earth Day, use your power to:
🌏️ Learn about crustacean welfare
🌏️Make kinder choices for ocean life
🌏️Support protections for crustaceans

Together, we can build a planet where compassion extends to all animals — on land, in the sky, and under water.

Our power. Our planet. Their future. 🦀💚

Visit our planet protectors page to learn more about these fascinating creatures: https://buff.ly/floAz05

20/04/2026

Over the last decade since Crustacean Compassion was founded, we have worked tirelessly to protect crustaceans across all areas. During this time, we have seen incredible changes within government, the law, and the seafood and restaurant industries.

Now, as we enter 2026, there is the potential for significant welfare improvements for crabs, lobsters and prawns. These include a ban on live boiling and their inclusion in animal protection legislation. In December, the government recognised that boiling animals alive is “not an acceptable killing method” in its Animal Welfare Strategy, but this must now be translated into clear guidelines.

We won’t rest until these improvements are confirmed. That’s why we are writing to DEFRA, with the support of 17 other organisations, calling for urgent progress.

Thank you to everyone who has signed our Open Letter and continues to be a voice for our ten‑legged friends.

19/04/2026

🦐 BIG prawn welfare update 🦐

ALDI has finally joined the rest of the major UK supermarkets in committing to better welfare for farmed prawns 🙌
They’ve published plans to:
✅ Phase out eyestalk ablation
✅ Move towards humane slaughter methods
✅ Report publicly on progress

That means every major UK supermarket has now made prawn welfare commitments — a huge step forward for crustacean welfare.

👉 Want to see how supermarkets compare? We’ve broken it all down in our latest Snapshot report, with clear supermarket scorecards showing where each retailer ranks on crustacean welfare — and where improvements are still needed: https://buff.ly/7UXRhPb

Progress is happening, and transparency matters. Let’s keep raising the bar.

18/04/2026

A recent story highlighted a woman attempting to rescue a lobster from a seafood restaurant, who she believed was at risk of being boiled alive, by releasing them into the nearby harbour. However, it later emerged that the lobster was allegedly being kept for educational purposes for schoolchildren.

While we understand and appreciate people acting out of concern, please do not take matters into your own hands. Removing animals from tanks or releasing them into the sea could unintentionally cause serious harm to the animal, the environment, and even to yourself. Many crabs and lobsters will not survive release from captivity.

If you are concerned about crustacean welfare, please use the reporting system on our website. This allows us to work with councils, authorities, MPs, and businesses to improve welfare standards safely and effectively.

Your concern matters. Let’s make change the right way - responsibly.

Report your findings: https://buff.ly/IHoCbMG

Read story: https://buff.ly/RK2IRVW

17/04/2026

🌊 Fun Fact Friday! 🌊

🦞 Crayfish have a cool hidden skill: they’re really good at tuning their bodies to handle changes in their environment — like temperature shifts — instead of relying mostly on behaviour the way many other freshwater species do.

🔬 Scientists also found that things like a crayfish’s body shape, life cycle, and how much it can move around all help decide whether it can stay in the same place or needs to find new habitat as conditions change.

💪 Pretty impressive for such a small freshwater creature!

📙https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Holly-Embke/publication/402919196_Adaptive_Capacity_of_Freshwater_Organisms_in_North_America_Current_Understanding_and_Future_Applications/links/69bd996cac381228755f6cc5/Adaptive-Capacity-of-Freshwater-Organisms-in-North-America-Current-Understanding-and-Future-Applications.pdf