Can lobsters and octopuses feel pain? Scientists say yes, and the U.K. is listening
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Lobsters, octopus and crabs are now among animals the United Kingdom plans to classify as sentient beings , a step that could lay the groundwork for changes in how these animals are treated and slaughtered in the country.
The British government, which is working on a reformation of its animal welfare laws following Brexit, added cephalopods (including squids and octopus, among others) and decapods (lobsters, crabs and shrimp, among others) last week to the roster of species included in a bill that would formally recognize some animals’ capability to experience feelings such as pain. The bill would create a committee that aims to ensure the U.K. considers animals’ sentience as it designs public policy.
The original bill considered all animals with backbones as sentient, leaving out other creatures such as lobsters, octopus and crabs. The expansion comes after a report by the London School of Economics found these animals have the capacity to experience pain or distress.
Researchers assessed and weighed more than 300 studies evaluating neurological or behavioral indicators in these invertebrate species, said Jonathan Birch, a professor at the London School of Economics and a principal investigator on the Foundations of Animal Sentience project .
The studies examined things such as whether animals have pain receptors, whether they demonstrate an ability to learn and how they respond to pain-relieving drugs.
“In all the cases, the balance of evidence seemed to tilt toward sentience. In octopus, that’s very strong. And looking at shrimps … confidence is much lower,” Birch said.
He said researchers are interested in a range of animal feelings, including joy, pleasure and comfort. But pain and suffering have particular relevance in animal welfare laws.
The changes to the bill won’t have immediate consequences for restaurants or commercial fishing businesses, but could help shape future British animal welfare policy, according to the government’s news release.
As new policies are created, government ministers would have to evaluate their impact on animals and how they feel.
“When you respect something as a sentient being, the sort of principles you accept for other sentient beings have to apply,” Birch said. “Humane slaughter requires training. These are principles people readily grant for any vertebrate.”
The report considered commercial animal welfare concerns and recommended against practices such as live boiling lobster without stunning, declawing crabs or selling live decapods to untrained handlers.
The report could not identify a humane way that’s commercially viable to kill octopus and other cephalopods, the report says.
The main ways people on fishing vessels kill these creatures in European waters — clubbing them, slicing their brains or by asphyxiating them in a suspended net bag, shouldn’t be acceptable, the report says.
“There’s a real lack of research in this area,” Birch said. “Methods regarded as standard for humane killing in science can’t be done on a commercial scale to produce an edible product. That’s a fundamental issue we want to raise.”
The animal welfare bill is moving through the U.K. Parliament’s upper chamber , the House of Lords, before it heads to the House of Commons, where it is expected to receive favor.
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I'm still going to eat them. Given the right circumstances they would eat me.
I am pretty sure cows and pigs feel pain to but I am not going to stop eating them either.
Did you ever see how they kill cows? They don't know what hit them. Watch the movie "Temple Grandon".
I am still going to chow down on a juicy steak when ever I can.
You mean Dr Mary ... yes, a very remarkable woman... A world renown animal behaviorist and autism advocate... HBO did a biopic on her (Temple Grandin) that is well worth watching...
Isn't more human if "they don't know what hit them"?
I don't think that people are advocating not eating them (I won't since they are really sea roaches), but I think they are saying that being boiled to death might not be humane
Evening Perrie..we chuck our crayfish in the freezer first as it puts them to sleep..Or a knife thru the brain...then cook..
Crayfish is on the menu again for Christmas... China's loss our gain..cheap Cray's..best thing China did banning them..we are wrapped..
You can do the same with lobster as long as they go from knife to pot immediately... Lobster have a bacteria that they can live with, but humans cannot... This has been known since roman times.... Once dead, you have four hours to cook your lobster or toss it...
I'm with Perrie on this one, I don't eat things that live in the muck of the ocean....
The only time I ever had crayfish (but didn't) was at a restaurant in Nantucket. Fried crayfish. When they finally served me with a pan that had five black blotches on the bottom, thankfully the person I was with gave me half of their meal.
Here's the bit in Annie Hall where Diane and Woody throw the lobsters into boiling water.
I LOVE seafood - lobsters, scallops, escargots, shrimp, oysters......but if I eat too much of it, it gets even with me, it gives me gout.
Yep same here..prawns, squid, shark...all on my list as well...