RSPCA is absolutely ridiculous
- May 5
- 5 min read
Updated: May 8
Calls by the RSPCA to ban the holiday pastime of crabbing have been branded 'absolutely ridiculous'.
The animal welfare charity says crabs are sentient animals and are capable of feeling pain and stress.
( WTF ? )
They are calling on parents to rethink taking their children crabbing and want the crustaceans to be protected under law. Instead, they say, people should watch crabs in rockpools and use crabbing buckets to collect pebbles. Such a ban would bring an end to the age-old tradition of families dangling a line over the side of a quay to tempt a crab with a morsel of bread or bacon before temporarily placing them in a bucket of water. It would also have serious financial consequences for seaside gift shops that sell crab buckets, lines, nets and bait during the summer season One shop which sells crabbing equipment in Poole, said a ban would 'destroy the livelihoods of thousands of businesses'.
Terry Morris, of Sea Fishing Poole, who have operated since 1965, branded the RSPCA 'jobsworths' who should stop 'sticking their oar in.'
He said: "It is absolutely ridiculous and will cause a huge uproar. Hundreds of families with children come here to get their pots and nets for crabbing and it is a lovely, cheap day out for them. "This is a tradition that has been going on for hundreds of years and a ban would destroy the industry and the livelihoods of thousands of businesses. "We tell the children to make sure the water isn't hot, is changed often and that the crabs are put back in the sea as soon as possible, so they are not harmed. "With the fuel crisis holidays abroad are getting more expensive so this is the way for the family to do something together which is fun and affordable. "The children get so excited and for the RSPCA to propose a ban makes me think they are a bunch of jobsworths who should stop sticking their oar in."
Another bait and tackle shop in Swanage said they had never seen a crab mistreated in more than 20 years. They labelled the RSPCA's proposed ban 'extreme and ridiculous'. Charlotte Greasby, who has run Swanage Sea Fishing with her husband Tom for two decades, said: "Crabbing keeps children outside for hours having fun and as a parent I would much rather they were doing that rather than stuck inside glued to their devices. "It brings a sense of discovery but by the RSPCA's logic are they proposing a ban on rock pooling too, as people fish out starfish, or pond dipping? "The crab is not hooked and it is released back into the water. "In more than 20 years down here I have never seen the mistreatment of a crab. "I donate to the RSPCA every month but I don't understand where they are coming from with this idea because it is extreme and ridiculous."
Rebecca Machin, a scientific and policy officer at the RSPCA, said crabs can feel stress when being suddenly taken out of their natural environment and from being in a small bucket of water with others.
She said: "The science is quite well established that crab and lobsters show evidence of sentience. "We know they can feel stress when handled incorrectly. They can get stressed being in overcrowded areas. The idea of taking a crab out of the water suddenly causes it stress even for half-an-hour being in a bucket of water which is going to be in warmer conditions than in the sea and that is going to cause it more stress and increase mortality rates. If you have other crabs in the bucket they can start being aggressive to each other and they can drop some of their limbs like an escape response to predation. I prefer just watching animals in rock pools, if you just sit quietly and see how they all interact and how they live their lives when they are not under stress. "We hope people will think again about doing an activity that causes harm to animals." She believes that shops that sell crabbing equipment 'will be OK' if such a ban ever came into existence. She said: "People can still enjoy using buckets to collect pebbles or to make sandcastles. The lines can cause terrible entanglements to marine life and are a threat. "I think these shops will find ways to adapt to that, I think in the long run they will be OK."
------------------------------------------
JB RESPONDS:
Maybe its about time the RSPCA worked on the fishing industry as fish have feelings to and we catch millions every year and mankind is decimating global fish stocks and the RSPCA wastes it damned time groaning about a crab we do not eat and that are not in decline and - WTF are the RSPCA wasting time on this for ?
How about kids digging up worms or pulling legs of spiders - are these to be made ILLEGAL as well. I agree it's not a nice thing to do, but kids have done this for centuries and no law will stop it.
It just makes the RSPCA look foolish.
or hunt to near extinction like Cod -
What is your opinion on this decision by the RSPCA ?
Are there to be police on the beaches keeping an eye on what the kids are doing ? Are there to be arrests and prosecutions of an 8 year old. Are beach shops selling crab nets and buckets to be prosecuted for selling such items ? I would discourage this past time and I would teach children about sentient beings - but to ban and make illegal really is showing the hard hand of the law
John Bellamy
If you find anything on this web site offensive, please know, I don't give a shit. If you choose, and it IS a choice, to be offended, then my work here is done. If I have made you think. If I have made you stop. If I have made you re consider. If I have made you - maybe - angry - and if that actually got your blood pumping and your mind racing, then that is good. It's time to wake up from the dream. It's time to face reality. The here and now is what is important and being the best yiou can be. So - why settle for second best - and Im talking about your Self. Be the best you can be.
You make, and take, from the news that which you wish to see and hear. You observe what you want and comment of things that affect you personally. If you don't like something, do not read it and move on but do not shy away from what IS going on in the world of which - you are a part. World news is so easy to find these days and differing opinions not hard to find. Having an opinion is vital and being a ' don't care' person helps no one. So open your mind - open your heart - open your awareness and ALWAYS be open to new ideas.
copyright © 2026
All rights reserved.
TO BE DELETED FROM OUR SYSTEM
Return this e mail with
PLEASE DELETE OH HANDSOME ONE...
Our mailing address is
Hamilton Hall Hotel
1 Carysfort Road
Bournemouth
Dorset BH14EJ
01202-399227
Comments