Hey, Baltimore: ‘I’m ME, Not MEAT,’ Proclaims Crab on New PETA Billboard
Ad Near Inner Harbor Seafood Restaurants Urges Diners to See Aquatic Animals as Individuals and Go Vegan
For Immediate Release:
August 23, 2018
Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382
As part of a nationwide campaign to encourage diners to leave crabs and other sea animals off dinner plates and in their aquatic homes, PETA has erected a giant billboard near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor that shows a colorful crab next to the words “I’m ME, Not MEAT. See the Individual. Go Vegan.” The ad is close to several seafood restaurants—including Phillips Seafood, Mo’s Fisherman’s Wharf, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood & Steaks, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.—and will be in place for the Baltimore Seafood Festival on September 15.
The ad is located outside the Shot Tower–Market Place Metro station directly above the Silver Moon II restaurant at 801 E. Baltimore St. and will be up for a month.
“Just like humans, crabs feel pain and fear, have unique personalities, and value their own lives,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s billboard aims to give Charm City residents some food for thought about sparing sensitive marine animals the agony of being boiled alive or crushed to death in fishing nets simply by going vegan.”
A PETA investigation of a crustacean slaughterhouse revealed that live lobsters and crabs were impaled, torn apart, and decapitated—even as their legs continued to move. Chefs typically place live crabs and lobsters into pots of boiling water while they’re still conscious—a cruel practice that has just been banned in Switzerland. And fish slowly suffocate or are crushed to death when they’re dragged from the oceans in huge nets, and the throats and stomachs of those who survive are cut open on the decks of fishing boats.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—offers a free vegan starter kit (available here) full of recipes, tips, and more. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
