Sunsations Campaign

In May 2018, we launched the largest campaign for captive hermit crabs ever: We’re urging beach retail chain Sunsations–one of the largest dealers of hermit crab on the East Coast–to keep hermit crabs in the wild!

Hermit crabs are complex animals who can live for over 30 years in their natural habitat, the tropical seashore. These social beings thrive in large colonies and often sleep piled up together. They enjoy climbing, foraging, and exploring and even work in teams to find food.

Every single land hermit crab sold in souvenir shops like Sunsations—hundreds of thousands every year—has been caught from the wild, as these animals do not breed readily in captivity. 

At the boardwalk, hermit crabs are sold to tourists in tiny, barren cages with some pebbles and a plastic palm tree. Deprived of everything natural to them, they are destined to die in mere months.

To the souvenir industry, hermit crabs are nothing more than disposable trinkets.

Sunsations is a beloved family store—but it is also one of the largest sellers of wild hermit crabs on the East Coast. Its customers would be shocked to learn that these crabs are wild animals who are torn from their habitats to be sold in barren, crowded conditions that lead to their untimely deaths.

Please join us in telling Sunsations to replace the sale of living hermit crabs—who are so much more than mere trinkets—with non-living souvenirs that will truly last for generations to come instead of rotting in a cage by summer’s end.

Sign our Change.org petition TODAY!

Since the launch of our campaign, which has been supported by more than 50,000 people, we’ve documented dead and dying hermit crabs in Sunsations stores. Watch and share our powerful investigative video below!