A waste of life You are taken prisoner-taken miles and miles away from your home. You will never see you family again, and you know that you will probably die sooner than later. No matter how well they treat you, your life expectancy has just dropped from seventy-five years to four, if you are lucky. This is what happens to hermit crabs every day they are taken from the wild and placed in captivity...
This is the intro for the speech I gave in my public speaking class last week on why people should not keep hermit crabs as pets (or for any other reason). The debate has continued at the Hermit Crab Association online forum. The data I found on life expectancy for hermit crabs is from PETA, whose advice not everyone listens to given thier reputation. Here is a basic outline of my reasoning:
I. From my personal experience taking care of hermit crabs, I have come to the conclusion that hermit crabs should be left in the wild for three major reasons.
a. One, it is unfair and inhumane for hermit crabs to be robbed of a long and natural life.
b. Two, they often suffer while in captivity.
c. And three, even if you were to keep a hermit crab, they require more care and expense than you might think, and are not likely to live long anyway.
Marine Biology is one subject I am interested in, but I have many other interests as well (such as art, music, politics, computers, etc.), so I probably won't be majoring in it. I want to pick something that will allow me to make enough money so I can save up enough to own my own art gallery/coffee shop/bar/music venue someday. -Jen
10:52:52 AM 
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