World Animal Day: or when is an animal not an animal?

This World Animal Day, Wednesday 4th October, many thousands of animal advocates are uniting, demanding to make the world a fairer place for other species. At Crustacean Compassion, we’ll be joining them with a special day of action on social media, and we need your help! Can you help us reach more animal protection supporters by sharing one of our posts with the hashtag #worldanimalday and a link to our petition?

Sad but true: in UK legislation, not all animals are “animals”, and as invertebrates, decapod crustaceans are explicitly excluded from the protections of the UK’s Animal Welfare Acts. This means that decapods can be crammed together in tanks, wrapped alive in supermarket packaging, boiled alive, and hacked apart with knives. Many people simply have no idea that these animals are highly likely to be able to experience pain. Until the law is changed, there is very little that can be done to stop such practices; and until more animal advocates speak out for these less visible species, the issue will continue to be ignored.

World Animal Day doesn’t discriminate. It’s a day for the bony, the slimy and the downright spiny, as well as for the furry and the feathered. On the 4th October, using the hashtag #worldanimalday and sharing our petition on Twitter and Facebook will help us reach thousands more new people with our message: crabs and lobsters matter too. Check out our webpage on the WAD website, and set your alarm for the 4th October!

Tweet suggestions are as follows but please feel free to write your own too – just remember to also include a link to our petition! Alternatively, we’ll be updating our social media channels throughout the day, so you can share those posts if you’d prefer.

This #WorldAnimalDay I want protection for ALL animals. Please sign and share @crab_welfare’s petition: change.org/p/george-eustice-mp-protect-crabs-and-lobsters-under-the-animal-welfare-act-england-and-wales

It’s #WorldAnimalDay so I’m supporting @crab_welfare’s petition to include crustaceans in the Animal Welfare Act: change.org/p/george-eustice-mp-protect-crabs-and-lobsters-under-the-animal-welfare-act-england-and-wales

Thanks for your help!

Best wishes,

Maisie, Jules, Claire, Ann, Joanna and Gemma

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