The Virginian-Pilot covers the hermies’ plight!
Just before our kickoff protest for our campaign urging Sunsations to take hermit crabs off its shelves, The Virginian-Pilot has covered the story. Read and share today!
The Virginian-Pilot: “Hermit crab freedom” protest planned at the Oceanfront this weekend
Beachgoers and tourists at the Oceanfront this weekend may encounter the Plight of the Hermies.
That’s the name of a small local group that says it’s fighting for “hermit crab freedom.”
Organizers plan to set up shop Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon outside Sunsations, the beach souvenir store, to protest its sale of hermit crabs.
“They end up dying in these cages within just a few months,” said Plight of the Hermies founder Laura Cascada, who lives in Portsmouth. She started the group four years ago after finding out more about the souvenir hermit crab industry with what she calls “subpar conditions.”
“When I was a kid, I went to the beach every summer up in Ocean City and I would always buy a hermit crab,” she said. “I was so excited, then it would die every time. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned they can live for actually 30 years” in the wild.
Cascada started a Change.org petition against Sunsations last month that has garnered more than 41,000 signatures worldwide.
Sunsations President Ronnie Sibony responded not long after.
“Our hermit crab supplier has been in business since 1978 and is a very reputable hermit crab and accessories supplier,” Sibony wrote in an official Change.org response. “You concern for the proper treatment of hermit crabs is noted. We have high care standards for the hermit crabs in our care in the stores. Potential pet owners obviously should realize that they, by purchasing a hermit crab (or any animal) for a pet, are making a commitment to be responsible for the proper care and treatment of that animal while under their care.
“I am confident that our stores do all that is reasonably within our ability to ensure that this happens without invading the privacy of potential pet owners.”
Sunsations did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.
The hermit crabs sold by pet stores are land crabs native to Caribbean beaches unlike the aquatic hermit crabs that are indigenous to Virginia waters, according to Pilot archives. As such, they love humidity.
They need access to both land and water and use seawater to wet their gills and the inside of their shells, according to the Smithsonian.
“They are popular pets, but do not breed in human care,” according to a fact sheet from the National Zoo. “Consequently, the pet trade harvests them from the wild, which is unsustainable.”
Cascada said she’d like to see tourists reach for other products at Sunsations instead.
“It’s much better to take home a souvenir that’s going to last for years to come instead of a hermit crab who will perish in a cage by the end of the summer.”
