Today, Plight of the Hermies’ giant inflatable crab descended on a Sunsations store in Virginia Beach⁠—and protesters documented filthy conditions, broken limbs, and a dead crab. Watch the recap AND see how Sunsations responded⁠⁠—then share the video on Facebook to speak up for hermit crabs!

The two-meter-tall crab, emblazoned with the slogan, “Sunsations: Hermit crabs aren’t souvenirs!” was flagged by protesters holding signs and handing out postcards encouraging passerby to visit HermitCrabFreedom.com to add their name to the 56,000-people-strong petition.

Protesters documented broken limbs, filthy conditions, and even a dead hermit crab inside the shop during the demonstration.

At the conclusion of the protest, a box of YOUR signatures was delivered to the front door of Sunsations’ Virginia Beach headquarters.

When alerted to the neglect and cruelty documented today, the company replied: “We get [hermit crabs] from a reliable source. They’re not tortured; they’re not mistreated.” The spokesperson refused to comment on the dead hermit crab found inside his company’s store. Watch the recap footage here!

The demonstration was the culmination of a two summer-long campaign comprising four local billboards, an investigative video viewed by over 60,000 people revealing dead and dying hermit crabs inside Sunsations, protests at every Virginia Beach location, call-in days, and the distribution of thousands of postcards to tourists.

According to Plight of the Hermies founder Laura Lee Cascada, “Sunsations is a beloved family store—but it is also one of the largest sellers of wild hermit crabs on the East Coast. Its customers would be shocked to learn that these crabs are wild animals who are torn from their habitats to be sold in barren, crowded conditions that lead to their untimely deaths.”

Speak up for crabs TODAY: Watch & share the footage on Facebook!