Horseshoe crabs are harvested for their blood's biomedical properties, with welfare and conservation concerns driving alternatives to lethal and non-lethal harvest methods.
Horseshoe crabs surviving the bleeding process are released with hemolymph volume reduced by 30%, compromising immune function and potentially reproductive capacity. The welfare of these ancient animals - evolutionarily unchanged for 450 million years - has been overlooked in favor of biomedical utility. Recombinant alternatives now exist that do not require crab harvest at all. Transitioning pharmaceutical testing to rFC would eliminate both welfare harm and conservation pressure on a species whose eggs are critical for migrating shorebird welfare.