Crabs in Captivity, no buddy

Lots of people have asked us if there will be living crabs at the museum, and the answer is no.

Crabs are wild animals that have not been domesticated in the same way as cats or dogs. They won’t play fetch or snuggle when you’re feeling down - although like cats, they’d kill you if only they were bigger.

In general, crabs in the wild live twice as long as those in captivity, with some very rare exceptions. So we don’t think it’s fair to cut their life short just so we can gawp at them.

We believe that learning about crabs should not be at the expense of them living in their natural environment, so if you don’t mind, we’ll leave them there.

Our museum is situated right by the coast, and when we open we’d be happy to give you as much information as you’d like about how to observe crabs in their natural habitat without stressing them out too much!