Image copyright Getty Images Image caption China is one of the world's largest sources of crayfish (stock image)

A crayfish desperate to remove itself from the menu sacrificed one of its own claws to escape a boiling pot of spicy soup at a restaurant in China.

In footage viewed more than a million times online, the crustacean is seen gripping one of its claws before successfully detaching it and fleeing.

The dramatic film was captured by social media user Jiuke, who posted it on the popular Chinese platform Weibo.

Jiuke later told users of the site that he had adopted the crayfish as a pet.

Weibo users had left comments in support of the courageous crayfish, urging "let him go" and "don't eat him, seeing how hard he's trying to survive", the Taiwan News website reported.

Juike then responded: "I let him live, I already took him home and am raising him in an aquarium."

China has found itself in the grip - or should that be the claws - of a crayfish food craze in recent years that has seen a boom in crayfish restaurants and farms.

The country is the world's largest source of the crustaceans, according to China's state news agency Xinhua, citing a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Output in China rose to 852,300 tonnes in 2016 from 265,500 tonnes in 2007, Xinhua adds.

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