Approximately 50000 Horseshoe crabs die annually in blood harvesting. Their blue colour blood has a price tag of 15000$ a quart. The blue colour in blood is caused by copper present in blood as Hemocyanin which carries oxygen throughout the crabs body (analogues to hemoglobin in our bodies). But that is not what makes the blood this expensive. Amebocytes in horseshoe blood quickly clots in the presence of exdotoxins which provides a perfect natural test to examine purity. Therefore in medicine horseshoe crabs blood is used to ensure vaccines and implants are not contaminated.
In 2018 nearly 500,000 crabs have been used to harvest blood and after draining 1/3 of the blood, they were released into their original habitats. However more than 50,000 crabs die in this process. Not only it threatens the horseshoe crab population but also it has become a threat to the survival of migratory birds such as threatened red knot who depends on horseshoe crab eggs.
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