May 13 - Horseshoe Crab

"We're wiping out one of the world's oldest and toughest creatures."

~ Will Harlan, Senior Scientist, Center for Biological Diversity

It's a creature that has been shuffling along Earth's shores since before there were trees.  Older than dinosaurs.   Built like a prop from a sci-fi horror movie, but once again - WE are the monsters.

Their copper based blood contains an enzyme that's hypersensitive to bacterial toxins, so it's essential for testing anything that might at some point enter the human body: vaccines, IV drugs, surgical implants, etc.

Horseshoe crabs are captured in the wild, bled via needle to the heart, and released - often back into the same harvest zones.  Around 70% to 90% survive, but because they're not technically killed, the practice is labelled "sustainable".

Draining a living fossil to test a drug you can't afford.  Capitalism is an apex predator.

(view other dinosaur)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Isopresso: