Much as I rarely agree with our nannying government poking its nose in our daily affairs, I do have a little sympathy with Norfolk Coast Partnership for its concern about the plight of crabs caught by children on beaches. My sister and I used to go crabbing in Wales and we rarely caught more than a few and always returned them to the water but now it seems youngsters are shovelling too many crabs into their buckets in Norfolk, causing the creatures to fight and kill each other in the cramped conditions. Sending out 10,000 advice leaflets on the issue does seem rather excessive where a little common sense might prevail. It’s of course sad to learn from research carried out at Cambridge University that poor old crabs have panic attacks when they’re piled on top of each other but compared with boiling lobsters alive, the crowded bucket may not be such a hardship. At least while kids are hunting for crabs in their free time it means fewer of them are on the streets stalking human prey.
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