Rock lobster!

GOVERNMENT AIMS TO PROTECT CRUSTACEANS FOLLOWING IMPORTANT REPORT

A long-awaited, independent report commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and investigated by a team of scientists, led by Dr Jonathan Birch at London School of Economics (LSE) has finally been published, concluding that decapods (crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp and prawns) are capable of feeling pain, distress and harm and must be protected. Currently these beautiful sea creatures, with complex nervous systems, are boiled and chopped up alive and even sent alive in the post!

The review, which drew from over 300 scientific studies and came about in response to campaigning from Crustacean Compassion and their supporters, confirms that which many already knew - that they are sentient beings. As Dr Birch pointed out, Octopuses and other cephalopods have been protected in science for years, but have not received any protection outside science until now. The report states:

"We recommend that all cephalopod molluscs and decapod crustaceans be regarded as sentient animals for the purposes of UK animal welfare law. They should be counted as 'animals' for the purposes of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and included in the scope of any future legislation relating to animal sentience."

The review also evaluated all current commercial practices involving their welfare and has included new recommendations for their trade, transportation, stunning and death, avoiding declawing, nicking, eyestalk ablation, the sale of live decapod crustaceans to non-expert handlers, and extreme slaughter methods such as live boiling without stunning.

The UK Government are now planning to amend the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill taking these things on board to protect decapod crustaceans so that they are handled and treated better. On Tuesday 30th November 2021 Crustacean Compassion expect the government to amend the sentience bill to become law.