2025: A year of Crustacean Compassion in action

2025 has been another crab-ulous year for us at Crustacean Compassion and a year of real progress for crustacean welfare.  As we reflect on everything we achieved, we want to say a heartfelt thank you for your unwavering support. Every action, donation and conversation has helped us improve treatment of these remarkable animals.  

Our campaign highlights

This year we launched four major campaigns, tackling crustacean welfare across many areas, from Parliament steps to coastal rockpools, our campaigns united voices and sparked progress for the most overlooked lives.

Ban Boiling Alive: In January we renewed our campaign to end one of the most barbaric practice: boiling live, conscious crustaceans. In October we reignited the urgency with our Boiling Point event outside Parliament, joined by supporters, fellow animal welfare organisations and our Ambassador Wendy Turner-Webster and her amazing father Brian. We're disappointed that we didn’t make our 2025 ambition but we are not deterred and more determined than ever. We met with Defra just last week and believe a ban will come in 2026 with their upcoming guidance on Welfare at the Time of Killing regulations. We will keep up the pressure to ensure it becomes a reality.

Protect Crabs in Labs: In April, on World Day for Laboratory Animals, we stood outside the Home Office in London with one simple ask: to urge the government to protect crabs and lobsters from unregulated suffering in UK laboratories. Our research revealed that 30,000 decapods were used in UK universities between 2018 and 2024 - almost 5,000 every year - without a single legal safeguard. Crustaceans remain the only sentient animals excluded from Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA), despite being among the some of the most commonly used in research. We’ll keep fighting in 2026 until this injustice ends.

Kinder Kitchens: To prepare the food industry for change in killing methods, we partnered with The Chefs Forum to proactively launch our Kinder Kitchens campaign – supporting chefs and restaurants in phasing out boiling alive and adopting humane handling practices. With our chef Ambassador Merrick Webber onboard, this campaign continues into 2026, and if you know a restaurant that could benefit, please get in touch!

Rockpool Rangers: Over the summer, we introduced a fun and educational campaign for young explorers along the Cornish coast: Rockpool Rangers. Our goal was to inspire children and families to explore rockpools with care, curiosity, and compassion. With the help of an innovative child-friendly underwater telescope, we led sessions where kids discovered marine life up close – without touching or harming them. We provided resource packs, sun safety gear, and the chance to earn a coveted Rockpool Ranger badge.

Beyond campaigns: our three pillars of change

Our campaigns created incredible momentum but lasting change takes more than action alone. At Crustacean Compassion, everything we do is built on three pillars: Advocacy, Engagement, and Education. These pillars drive progress at every level; shaping laws, inspiring industry, and sparking curiosity and compassion in people of all ages. Here’s how we strengthened them in 2025.

Advocacy: In 2025, we strengthened our advocacy for crustacean welfare, working at the heart of policy change. We joined a select working group with Animal Welfare Minister Baroness Hayman of Ullock to review legislation and map out a roadmap for reform. As lead sponsors of the ALAW conference, we shared our vision with passionate law students and professionals. We continued lobbying DEFRA to include crustaceans in the Animal Welfare Act, improve slaughter and transport standards, and urged the Home Office to extend ASPA protections. At the Labour Party Conference, we pressed for the long-awaited Animal Welfare Strategy and kept momentum through parliamentary briefings and collaboration with MPs to keep crustaceans on the political agenda.

Russell, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Advisor: "2025 was about persistence and progress. From shaping legislative reviews to keeping pressure on Parliament, we’ve laid the foundations for real change in 2026. Looking ahead to 2026, we expect DEFRA to publish humane killing guidance and complete evidence gathering on crustaceans, paving the way for their inclusion in the Animal Welfare Act. With national elections in Scotland and Wales on the horizon, we’ll seize every opportunity to advance protections across the UK."

Engagement: Our corporate engagement work seen the seafood industry make significant strides toward crustacean welfare in 2025. Our annual benchmark report, The Snapshot 2024, revealed a surge in positive change, with over half of major companies and nearly all leading supermarkets banning the sale of live crustaceans. Businesses are stepping up to tackle welfare risks like mutilations, transport conditions, and humane slaughter, while innovators are leading projects to develop stunning solutions for nephrops and alternatives to claw nicking for crabs. Through our Kinder Kitchens campaign, we’ve supported chefs and restaurants in adopting humane practices, and by partnering with Mitchell & Cooper we can provide Crustastun machines to pave the way for a future free from boiling alive. The message is clear: progress is possible, and those who lead with compassion will shape the industry of tomorrow.

Jane, Corporate Engagement Advisor: “This year showed that the seafood industry is embracing change. From new ideas and technology to bold corporate commitments, leaders are proving that welfare and innovation go hand in hand. The gap between pioneers and laggards is widening, and those who act now will shape a future where compassion is the norm, not the exception.”

Education: This year, we brought crustacean welfare to life for learners of all ages. With the expansion of our Children’s Corner and launch of its very own mascot, ‘Henry the Hermit Crab’, we created an engaging video introducing kids to crustacean habitats and behaviours. We also developed fresh learning resources for primary schools, making compassion part of the classroom. Beyond that, we took part in school projects and workshops, inspiring students from secondary school through to master’s level to explore how they can help protect these incredible animals.

Molly, Campaigns Coordinator: “Education sparks change at every level. This year, we inspired curiosity and compassion through initiatives like Children’s Corner and Rockpool Rangers, helping people of all ages discover the wonders of crustaceans. We learn something new about these fascinating animals nearly every day and love sharing it, from fun facts to the science behind their sentience and welfare, because awareness leads to empathy, and empathy drives action!”

Crustacean Compassion Day – a vision turned reality

We couldn’t end our 2025 roundup without celebrating a major milestone: our very first Crustacean Compassion Day, held on 10 June 2025. What started as a simple idea “what if we had a day for crustaceans?” in a team meeting became a global celebration. Supporters, animal welfare and environmental groups, media outlets, and even national calendars embraced the day, making it a highlight of our year. The joy, support, and sense of unity were overwhelming, and we can’t wait to do it all again in 2026. And there’s more… 2026 marks our 10-year anniversary, and we’ll be celebrating a decade of decapods all year long! Big plans are already in motion, and we can’t wait to share them with you.

Laura, Campaign Manager: "I’ve been with Crustacean Compassion from the beginning, and seeing Crustacean Compassion Day become a reality was a proud moment - not just for me, but for our incredible team. From a ‘what if’ idea to a worldwide celebration, it shows how far we’ve come together. I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved and even more excited for what’s ahead in our 10th anniversary year.”

Looking ahead to 2026

2026 is set to be a landmark year not only will we celebrate Crustacean Compassion’s 10th anniversary, but it will also mark the 20th anniversary of the Animal Welfare Act. This is the perfect moment to renew the very campaign goal that started it all: to get crustaceans included in this monumental piece of legislation. This is our chance to make history and we need you with us.

Help us make this happen:

• TAKE ACTION: Join our campaigns and spread the word.

• DONATE TODAY: Every contribution fuels our fight for decapod welfare.

• JOIN US: Join our pincer movement to change the future for crabs, lobsters, and all decapods.

Together, let’s make 2026 the year compassion wins.