Netizens crabby after House of Seafood takes crabs out on 'stroll' in Punggol

Netizens crabby after House of Seafood takes crabs out on 'stroll' in Punggol
PHOTO: Screengrab from Facebook/House of Seafood

In Covid-19 times, heading to the park can provide a great release from the frustrations of being cooped up at home.

Chances are, you'd come across others exercising or spending some quality time with their pets, but what about a crab straight from a restaurant?

Well, crabs were certainly at the centre of a marketing campaign from House of Seafood, a restaurant next to Punggol Point Park.

In a Facebook post on June 18, the restaurant mentioned how they "love their crabs the same way that everyone loves their pets". 

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/HouseOfSeafoodGroupOfCompanies/posts/4074182342629985[/embed]

"To make sure our crabs are really meaty that can satisfy every of our food patrons, we would bring them out strolling along the breezy Punggol Beach, just to get enough exercises...cheers!"

A photo in the Facebook post shows a man casually walking a leashed crab along the park. Such an image might have startled a few but evidently, not all were taken aback.

There was also a photo of three children joining in on the 'stroll', seemingly provided their own pet crab to walk with. 

The Facebook post went viral with over 800 shares and 400 comments at the time of writing.

Unfortunately, for the restaurant, it seems that most of the online response has been negative.

A netizen was upset, thinking that doing this could teach children the wrong mindset of pets being seen as food.

Meanwhile, one suggested that the restaurant hire professionals to come up with better marketing ideas. 

Others jumped on the criticism bandwagon, stating that such marketing tactics need not be deployed when a restaurant serves fresh food.

Another replied that the restaurant's treatment of the crabs could also be viewed as pure animal cruelty.

Speaking with AsiaOne, owner of House of Seafood, Francis Ng mentioned that he had no intention to torture or cause any harm to the crabs.

"Most importantly, I did not intend to cause unhappiness to animal lovers and activists because of my actions. I greatly apologise if I have caused hurt to them," Ng stated.
 

However, this isn't the first time that House of Seafood has been in the soup. One netizen went on to question why they don't seem to learn from past mistakes.

In October 2019, the restaurant introduced a live crab claw machine in a bid to get customers interested in catching their next meal. It caused an uproar over the treatment of the crustaceans, with SPCA saying: "Crabs are living creatures, not toys."

Last February, the restaurant was caught in another public farce. This time, it was their alleged attempt to profit from selling overpriced surgical masks at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

amierul@asiaone.com

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