Who among us hasn’t felt a pang of remorse over the plight of livestock? It’s only human to feel sad to know that cute calf frolicking in the field will one day be the juicy ribeye sizzling on the grill.
For many of us, it’s easier to feel sympathy for our fellow mammals. Be it a pig, lamb, deer, or rabbit, warm-blooded creatures just tend to solicit more emotion.
Creator Sarah (@sarindiego) says that she was inspired to save an arguably unlikely creature’s life during a recent trip to an Asian market. Sarah brought a crawfish home to be her pet.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite to plan.
In a TikTok with 1.7 million views as of Tuesday, Sarah shows off her new companion.
“Today, I went to the Asian store and got one of these as a pet to save its life and it backfired,” the text overlay on her post reads.
In the TikTok, the crawfish wiggles while Sarah presents it to the camera. Then, as she brings her other hand closer, the creature strikes what may have been an indirectly fatal blow by pinching Sarah’s hand, causing her to drop it.
She captions the TikTok, “Now I’m going to cook it,” and includes #seafoodboil.
All God’s creatures, great and small
While Sarah’s post appears to be at least partly satirical, the issue of animal rights is quite serious. There are innumerable horrific stories about the way the creatures we eat are treated.
Animals being raised or slaughtered in appalling circumstances are part of the reason why some decide to become vegetarians, pescatarians, or vegans.
It’s a commonly held fallacy that eliminating various types of meat or meat altogether is a modern development. While it is certainly true that more people choose such diets in recent centuries, vegetarianism has been around since ancient times.
The Hindus and Jains were the earliest widespread examples of vegetarianism. The philosopher Plato criticized excessive meat consumption and advocated a plant-based diet. Benjamin Franklin adopted a vegetarian lifestyle in his youth, though he later resumed eating meat.
People who abstain from meat and animal products, either certain types or in their entirety, tout the health benefits and clear conscience that such diets foster.
The fate of Sarah’s crawfish
Whether or not she in fact cooked the crawfish, Sarah does not appear to be a pescetarian, which is someone who doesn’t eat any meat except seafood. In one of her recent posts, she eats a lobster roll.
It’s pretty clear that Sarah’s crawfish TikTok was just for laughs—though it’s also possible that she does still have the pet.
Several people responded to Sarah’s post with jokes.
One jested that the crawfish was thinking, “My life is not your documentary Jessica.”
Another cheekily offered Sarah a crawfish boil recipe.
A third wrote, “He got trust issues.”
Lots of people took the crawfish’s plight quite seriously. People posted memories of having a crawfish as a pet, mostly in childhood.
One shared a deeply unsettling recollection. “When I was little I saved one from the boil, put it in the fish tank and he grew worms out of his head,” they wrote.
Many scolded Sarah for putting her hand close to the crustacean.
“Girl you put your hand up to his claws like you wanted a high five what did you think was gonna happen,” one scoffed.
@sarindiego Now I’m going to cook it #crawfish #seafoodboil #petsoftiktok ♬ original sound – sarindiego
Sarah didn’t immediately respond to an email sent Tuesday morning.
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