It turns out that lobsters, crabs, and other crustaceans can feel pain when they're being boiled alive. Now, scientists are calling for a ban against the practice.
Scientists have recognized the creatures as sentient, according to a 2021 finding. In the United Kingdom, Daily Mail reports that scientists are trying to make boiling lobsters and crabs alive illegal. Who knows if similar critiques will be made in America?
The scientist sent a letter to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs in the country. Professor Lynne Sneddon, a leading expert on crustacean perception from the University of Gothenburg, spoke on the issue. He explained, "You would not put a live cow or chicken in a vat of boiling water. So it is time to apply the same rules we give to mammals and birds to other sentient animals."
He continued, "There are a number of published scientific studies demonstrating that decapod crustaceans can form relationships within and between species, they can learn and remember tasks such as navigating mazes, and that they can make decisions based upon the costs and benefits of any situation."
Lobsters And Crabs
Scientists found that pressure and chemical burns trigger receptors in crustaceans that register in their brains. Basically, they feel pain similar to the same way humans do. So they likely would feel being burned or boiled alive. Likewise, the process of boiling can take a long time to kill the creatures. It could take several minutes.
So basically, they would feel a lot of it.
Eleftherios Kaisouras, co-author of the paper and signatory to the letter, told MailOnline, "When it comes to crabs and lobsters experiencing pain when boiled alive, in my opinion: yes. It takes some time for the animals to be rendered unconscious, so till then they will be able to experience pain when boiled alive."
Meanwhile, Sneddon said, "The UK recognises decapod crustaceans as sentient in law and as such that they are capable of suffering, yet they have not been added to the Animal Welfare Act or the Scientific legislation. The science has spoken and it is time to treat decapod crustaceans as sentient."
