04 November 2010

Chinese commuters can now buy live crabs in vending machines

Somebody forwarded this story to me yesterday, they thought it was hilarious, but to me it’s just disgusting and wrong.

Commuters in Nanjing, China can now buy live crabs from vending machines in the subway. The crabs are sold from refrigerated machines that keep the animals at 5 degrees Celsius, which makes them sleepy, but keeps them alive.

The poor creatures inside the machines, Shanghai hairy crabs, are considered a delicacy and sell for about $1.50 each. Freshness is guaranteed, and if your crab comes out dead, you get three free live ones.

There is no word if people eat the crabs live or take them home and cook them. I was hoping maybe they were being sold as pets, which is still awful, but a little better than them ending up as a snack or on the dinner plate.

Robin Lawless | @robmlaw

Photo credit: cc: flickr.com/photos/max_westby