MARYLAND - The Center for Biological Diversity has announced a lawsuit against Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources, alleging the Department has failed to release data on how thousands of horseshoe crabs are killed, bled, or injured by pharmaceuticals and fishermen.
The Center for Biological Diversity says horseshoe crabs are threatened with extinction but the state of Maryland shrouds the process it uses to determine when crabs can be harmed in secrecy.
“It’s outrageous that a shared treasure like horseshoe crabs can be killed and injured at such high levels and that details of these slaughters are then hidden from the public,” said William Snape, an attorney representing the Center. “We’re wiping out one of the world’s oldest and toughest creatures through indifference and brutality.”
According to the Center, biomedical companies harvest horseshoe crabs for use of their blue blood, which is used to detect toxins in drugs. The Center says blood harvests have nearly doubled in recent years, with close to a million horseshoe crabs harvested in 2022. European companies have already adopted alternative testing, according to the Center, but American companies have been slow to transition.
“Lesson one in saving wildlife is to make all take data available to the interested public,” said Snape. “By shielding huge corporate interests from accountability, the Department of Natural Resources is severely harming the horseshoe crab, Maryland’s shared beaches and the residents of Maryland.”
Numerous horseshoe crab mass mortality events have occurred in recent years, the Center say, with a 2021 die-off in Ocean City resulting in thousands of horseshoe crabs clogging local canals. No other species were associated or observed in the die-off, indicating a horseshoe crab-specific event, according to the Center.
The Center for Biological Diversity says the lawsuit was filed in Circuit Court in Anne Arundel County. WBOC has reached out to DNR for comment but did not receive an immediate response.