UK Animal Protection Group Claims
2021: "Crustaceans Recognized as Sentient Beings"
An animal protection organization in the UK has called for the practice of boiling lobsters alive to be made illegal. The UK recognized in 2021 that crustaceans are sentient beings capable of feeling pain.
On the 6th (local time), the British Daily Mail reported that scientists, lawyers, and charities including the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) sent an open letter to the UK government urging that boiling lobsters and crabs alive be made illegal.
They argue that boiling live decapods and crustaceans, including crabs and lobsters, is illegal under UK law.
Since 2021, the UK has recognized crustaceans as sentient beings. The current Sentience Act explicitly states that "lobsters, octopuses, crabs, and all other decapods and crustaceans" are sentient beings.
However, there is still no comprehensive ban on boiling them alive. Although these are sentient invertebrates, there are no restrictions on the methods used to kill them.
Scientists say that boiling crabs and lobsters alive causes them to suffer extreme pain for several minutes until they lose consciousness. Professor Lyn Sneddon of the University of Gothenburg has shown through her research that painful stimuli, including pressure and chemical burns, are actually processed in the brains of crabs.
Scientists at the London School of Economics (LSE) reviewed about 300 studies measuring the sentience of crustaceans and concluded that "crustaceans and cephalopods have complex central nervous systems, unlike other invertebrates, which is one of the key characteristics of sentient beings." They stated that boiling decapods or crustaceans alive without prior stunning is an inhumane method and takes more than two minutes until death.
Professor Sneddon said, "As science has proven, decapods and crustaceans should now be treated as sentient beings and their welfare improved."
The organizations that sent the letter to the government claim that public opinion is also leaning toward a ban. A recent poll showed that 61% of the British public responded that "boiling crustaceans alive is undesirable."
They stated, "The time to end the inhumane practice of boiling animals alive has already passed," and urged the UK government to take decisive action on this issue. The organizations also indicated they would consider legal action if the practice is not made illegal.
In Switzerland, the Animal Protection Act was amended in 2018 to prohibit cooking live lobsters as is. According to the law, restaurants must stun lobsters electrically or mechanically destroy their brains before boiling them. Norway and New Zealand have also banned cooking live crustaceans.
In South Korea, the current Animal Protection Act excludes invertebrates such as crustaceans and cephalopods from legal protection. The law limits protection to "vertebrates with developed nervous systems capable of feeling pain."
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