TORONTO -- The Toronto Transit Commission is calling it a "shellfish" act.
A picture posted on Facebook shows live crabs placed on seats on a Toronto subway car.
The poster wrote that a man placed four of the crustaceans on the seats around him on the crowded train.
TTC spokesman Brad Ross says the transit agency doesn't know exactly when the incident occurred, but says "crabs belong in buckets not on TTC seats."
He says to put crabs on seats instead of allowing people to sit is "shellfish behaviour."
Ross says there is also a serious side to the incident, and the TTC doesn't want to see altercations because people aren't able to sit. He says there was a report of a confrontation over the crabs.
He adds there might also be concerns for people who are allergic to shellfish.
The Facebook post said one person looking for an empty seat screamed when she saw the crabs and walked off, but came back a few seconds later and swept the critters off the seats.
"That's crab assault," the poster quoted the man as saying before picking them up and putting them back on the seats.
"The owner of these crabs may claim that they were service crabs or emotional support crabs or therapy crabs -- we don't buy that," Ross said Thursday.
"They didn't have bibs, they didn't have any hot drawn butter, so they weren't a meal," he said.
