Howie The Crab's Mom Advocates For Pets After Being Told To Set Howie Free!

Laura Porter is on a mission to educate and change people’s perspectives on not only crabs like her TikTok famous pet Howie, but also on why setting any pet free in the wild is not right. 

Porter, who advocates for crabs any chance she gets through informational and entertaining videos of her little rainbow crab Howie, is passionate about getting the word out on why dumping pets needs to stop. She said, “This is a hill I am willing to die on, so to speak.” 

Porter has more than 1 million followers between TikTok and Instagram. She’s been told many times by followers that she should just set Howie free.  While she said it would be easy to “delete, block, and keep scrolling,” this is an issue she’s passionate about so she’s finding opportunities to educate others.

“People tell me not to engage with my haters but let me tell you why it’s important to me that I stop and take my time to educate them instead,” she told The Blast exclusively. “All over the world, pets are being dumped and abandoned every day. Some people believe it’s a noble thing to do, but they couldn’t be more wrong. I want to put my foot down and speak out against people telling others to free their pets.” 

Porter explained that not only do socialized pets fail to thrive in the wild, but they can also harm native wildlife. Not only is there no benefit to freeing pets, but it’s also wrong.

“Goldfish can devastate local fish populations. Iguanas and pythons are extremely invasive. Domestic rabbits and guinea pigs stand out to predators and don’t stand a chance in the wild. It’s a death sentence being released,” she explained. “Cats can easily destroy populations of rare and native songbirds. It goes far beyond the abuse of abandoning an animal or introducing an invasive species.” 

Howie’s mom also said that zoonotic diseases can do even more damage. She used the example of releasing an octopus from an aquatic pet store back into the wild and said that the released octopus can introduce diseases into the wild population.

“We don’t live in a perfect world where we only adopt animals. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to rescue animals who ended up in the pet trade but rescuing them doesn’t mean dumping them back in the wild,” she said. “This notion of freedom is not freedom; it’s animal dumping.”

Porter wants to remind people that house pets are not wild animals regardless of if it’s a lizard, dog, cat, or crab. Encouraging someone to dump their pet is a death sentence to most, she explained.

“If I were to dump Howie the Crab to be ‘free,’ she would die. I live in Nebraska and the environment here is not suitable for a species that is from the West Coast of Africa,” Porter continued. “The climate difference alone would certainly kill her. Even if I entertain the idea of getting her back to the other side of the world, she would be lost without me. She is very old and slow and would not be able to protect herself. The stress and trauma of being abandoned in unfamiliar surroundings would be incredibly cruel to her. Abandoning pets is either a death sentence for them or a death sentence to native species. It is irresponsible no matter the outcome.” 

Anyone who follows Howie the Crab on social media knows that she’s family to the Porters. Porter taught her how to use sign language to communicate, gives her special treats, and takes her on walks. Porter can’t imagine a world in which she could ever just set Howie free. 

“Pets are family. Giving up on them because it’s hard and using the excuse of freedom has consequences and is illegal,” she told The Blast. “Pet abandonment is animal abuse. In most states, abandoning your pets is a misdemeanor and if it results in their death, it’s a felony.”

Porter is on a mission to change community guidelines across social media to create rules against people glorifying dumping pets. She said there are rules about animal abuse, and maybe it’s time there were rules about animal abandonment as well. Porter feels part of the problem could be happy endings in movies.

“For too long, people have grown up watching movies of returning animals to the wild with all perfect happy endings. These are stories, not reality,” she explained. “If it were up to me, I’d like these movies to have disclaimers because they are sending the wrong message to both children and adults. I would recommend talking to wildlife rehabbers and learning the reality of how difficult it can be once animals begin to rely on humans for survival. If we continue to educate people about the dangers of dumping animals, we can save not just the individual animal but entire ecosystems.” 

For those who buy animals from a pet store, Porter suggests just loving and taking care of them and never abandoning them. She wants everyone to treat their pets like family and commit to taking care of them for their entire lives. She also suggested that if you can’t help animals, at least be kind to them. Pets are for life. 

“So many animals have no voice to advocate for them. My mission is to advocate for crabs and crustaceans. They are sentient. They feel pain and fear and should never be boiled alive,” she continued.

“People view crabs as just food. I aim to change minds. Crabs are one of the most abused animals on this planet. From ocean to plate, they are starved. They are thrown into dark refrigerators to be kept alive before boiling. I want people to care and to choose to treat them humanely. I know the world will always continue to eat them, humanely spiking them before cooking them will at least spare them suffering. No matter what’s on your plate, I think we can all agree that boiling an animal alive is pretty darn cruel. I will always use my social media and publicity to advocate for crabs and animals no matter what species they are. I know we can do better.” 

When Porter shared a Facebook post talking about speaking out about pet abandonment, a lot of supportive remarks flooded the comment section. 

“This is a very important subject. It’s close to my heart. Keep up the great work, You are an amazing animal advocate,” one follower wrote. Another added, “Thank you for being their voice in a matter that very much needs attention.” 

Another follower thanked Porter for using her platform for this reason. “Thank you for using your platform to bring attention to this subject. As someone who works with animals and is close with my local shelters and rescues, this is a major issue that needs as much attention as it can get.”