Animal rights activists have targeted several restaurants and demanded they stop ‘abusing’ animals after they installed ‘grab-a-crab’ claw machines.
The Grab-A-Crab works just like a regular claw machine except for the fact that it lets people pick a live crab for their meal rather than a plush toy as usual.
The machines have quickly spread throughout Singapore and made it to renowned restaurants such as the Sea Tripod Seafood Group in Jurong and The House of Seafood.
While some people appreciated the idea to have the chance to select their own meal in a very fresh form, animal rights groups quickly slammed the machines and encouraged people to avoid causing “unnecessary harm” to the crabs.
“SAY NO TO LIVE CRAB CLAW MACHINE,” SPCA Singapore wrote in their Facebook post.
“A recent post by a local restaurant has been brought to our attention. In their claw machine, inanimate objects are replaced with live crabs for customers to lift and drop to ‘catch’ the crab(s) they want.
“The game causes unnecessary harm to the animals and it also encourages people to see animals as nothing more than objects to play with and goes against our vision of a kinder society.
“Crabs are living creatures, not toys. SPCA advises members of the public to not partake in such activities. We have reported this to AVS to ask them to shut this down. To help raise awareness, please share this message with your friends and family.”
Following public outrage, the CEO of the House of Seafood apologized for incorporating Grab-A-Crab machine into their business.
“First of all, I’m sorry to all animal caregivers. We did not intend to use animals as play things. We noticed a lot of children at The Punggol Settlement and we wanted to educate them (about marine life) and allow them to return these crabs into the ocean. We want to encourage them to release the crabs back into the ocean after catching them,” the CEO’s apology read.
“After the concerns raised by the public members, our restaurant had temporary stop the claw machine, and will carefully review our system. Once again, we are deeply sorry and apologize for any inconvenience and unhappiness caused. We, at House of Seafood, hope to serve each of you better and thank you for all the feedback.”
Following the backlash, the restaurant kept the Grab-A-Crab claw machine in business but replaced live crabs with vacuum-sealed processed crabs.
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Replaced!