SHELLFISH campaigners dressed up outside the House of Lords today as peers propose a ban on boiling lobsters alive.

The House is making amendments to the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill - a move that would recognise that crabs and lobsters can feel pain.

The legislation could give these animals new legal protections and, in the process, ban restaurants and fishmongers from boiling crabs alive or sending live lobsters through the post.

The Animal Sentience Bill was introduced by the Government on May 11 as part of a raft of animal welfare reforms. It replaces EU legislation which legally recognised that animals can feel pain and experience emotions.

The UK Animal Sentience Bill currently only applies to “vertebrate” animals – animals with a backbone. However, Crustacean Compassion, whose supporters include Chris Packham, Bill Bailey, the RSPCA and the British Veterinary Association - believe the Bill does not go far enough.

Scientific evidence claims that decapod crustaceans, a group which includes crabs and lobsters, can feel pain and suffer and should be included in animal welfare legislation.

The amendment also requests that cephalopods, which includes octopus and squid, are also protected by the Bill. In 2020, in response to pressure from animal welfare campaigners, the Government commissioned an independent scientific review of the evidence for the sentience of decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs. However, there is currently no release date for the report despite requests from Parliament and House of Lords.

Whilst other countries such as Switzerland, Norway and New Zealand include decapod crustaceans in their animal welfare laws, decapods are not currently included in the definition of ‘animal’ in most of the UK’s animal welfare legislation.

Crustacean Compassion says it means decapods can be routinely treated as if they were no more sentient than a vegetable. These crustaceans are frequently boiled and/or dismembered alive, the campaign says, with a brown crab taking up to three minutes to die in boiling water. 

Maisie Tomlinson of Crustacean Compassion, said: “We hope the House of Lords votes to accept this amendment at the earliest opportunity. Decapod crustaceans are Britain’s forgotten animals, widely recognised as sentient but subject to brutal treatment in the food industry.

"The Government made a manifesto commitment to promote high standards of animal welfare, and prides itself on being led by the science. It cannot decide which animals are sentient based on political convenience, and if the independent review of decapod and cephalopod sentience is so critical to the Lords’ decision-making, we urge them not to delay its release any further”.

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