"Event to Bring Joy to Customers"
A controversy arose after a lobster with its body cut off but still moving was served to customers at a lobster specialty restaurant in Seoul. The restaurant explained, "The movement of the lobster after death is a convulsion phenomenon."
On the 23rd, the restaurant stated on Instagram, "After killing the lobster with a needle and cutting off the body, if you stand the head up, seawater and blood drain out, resulting in a more delicious grilled lobster." They added, "To give unexpected joy to customers visiting on special occasions, we place a crown and hold a celebration event," and "We want to be the only lobster restaurant in the world that gives the most beautiful impression." This appears to be a response to criticism that the method of preparing and consuming the food is unethical.
Earlier, multiple online communities posted under the title "The lobster restaurant causing an uproar on Instagram for being too much." The post included footage of a couple who met through SBS Plus's 'I am Solo' dining at a lobster specialty restaurant in Seoul. In the video, the lobster on the table had its body cut off, was wearing a crown, and was holding a letter and a single flower in each claw.
The restaurant was criticized for serving a lobster with its body cut off but still moving, calling it unethical. Netizens responded with comments such as, "No matter that it is food going into a person's stomach, this is too cruel," "It's pitiful and horrifying," "Humans are truly cruel. The lobster's body is cut off and struggling to die, yet it holds a rose and a letter," "There is no animal more cruel than humans," and "The very idea of this is so bizarre."
[Image source=Online Community]
Meanwhile, some countries recently have established animal protection laws regulating the cooking methods of invertebrates such as lobsters, crabs, octopuses, and squids, based on the opinion that these animals also feel pain. The key point is that live lobsters and octopuses must be stunned before being placed in boiling water or killed painlessly during cooking.
In particular, some European countries apply strict animal protection laws not only to the cooking process but also to how lobsters are stored. Switzerland banned cooking crustaceans alive and transporting lobsters on ice in 2018. Violations are subject to criminal penalties. Additionally, Norway requires salmon to be anesthetized with carbon dioxide before being cut and then given an electric shock. The UK prohibits the shipment of live lobsters altogether.
However, South Korea's current Animal Protection Act defines animals as "vertebrates with a developed nervous system capable of feeling pain." Therefore, invertebrates such as lobsters are not covered by the law, as in this case.
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