UK Octopuses, crabs and lobsters to be recognised as sentient beings under UK law

Octopuses, crabs and lobsters to be recognised as sentient beings under UK law following LSE report findings

Octopuses, crabs and lobsters will receive greater welfare protection following an LSE report demonstrating they have capacity to experience pain or distress.

www.lse.ac.uk

Octopuses, crabs and lobsters to be recognised as sentient beings und…

archived 20 Nov 2021 07:02:12 UTC

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Octopuses, crabs and lobsters will receive greater welfare protection in UK law following an LSE report which demonstrates that there is strong scientific evidence that these animals have the capacity to experience pain, distress or harm.
The UK government has today confirmed that that the scope of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill will be extended to all decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs.
This move follows the findings of a government-commissioned independent review led by Dr Jonathan Birch. The review drew on over 300 existing scientific studies to evaluate evidence of sentience in cephalopods (including octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) and decapods (including crabs, lobsters and crayfish).
Dr Jonathan Birch, Associate Professor at LSE’s Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science and Principal Investigator on the Foundations of Animal Sentience project, said:
"I'm pleased to see the government implementing a central recommendation of my team's report. After reviewing over 300 scientific studies, we concluded that cephalopod molluscs and decapod crustaceans should be regarded as sentient, and should therefore be included within the scope of animal welfare law.
“The amendment will also help remove a major inconsistency: octopuses and other cephalopods have been protected in science for years, but have not received any protection outside science until now. One way the UK can lead on animal welfare is by protecting these invertebrate animals that humans have often completely disregarded."
The review also evaluated the potential welfare implications of current commercial practices involving these animals. It recommends against declawing, nicking, eyestalk ablation, the sale of live decapod crustaceans to untrained, non-expert handlers, and extreme slaughter methods such as live boiling without stunning. It also includes suggestions for best practices for transport, stunning and slaughter.
Animal Welfare Minister Lord Goldsmith said:
“The UK has always led the way on animal welfare and our Action Plan for Animal Welfare goes even further by setting out our plans to bring in some of the strongest protections in the world for pets, livestock and wild animals.
“The Animal Welfare Sentience Bill provides a crucial assurance that animal wellbeing is rightly considered when developing new laws. The science is now clear that crustaceans and molluscs can feel pain and therefore it is only right they are covered by this vital piece of legislation.”
Although decapod crustaceans and cephalopods have complex central nervous systems, one of the key hallmarks of sentience, up until now they have not been recognised under the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill.

 

[Creep3r]

Octopi are actually very intelligent, so that makes sense, but lobsters?

And crabs are douchebags. So not sure why crustaceans are mixed in with a creature as intelligent and as clever as an octopus. I mean yeah boiling them alive is cruel and there's good ways to kill them quickly before cooking them that more people should use, but classifying them as intelligent as an octo just feels disingenuous.

 

[OrionBalls]

Couldn't you just kill them with a knife or something and then immediately dunk them in the pot?

I mean, you CAN. But, doesn't release of cortisol increase the delicious flavor specifically in seafood?

Meh. I get your point. But, I was raised to boil it live, and nothing ever twitched once I dropped it in the pot. So, I never gave much thought to the pain of the crabs. Now chickens, that's another story, for another day.

 

[Coldgrip]

Octopi are actually very intelligent, so that makes sense, but lobsters?

If octopi are so intelligent, how come they're so tasty?

 

[Dysnomia]

Well good for the octopussies I guess.

 

[Mr. Bung]

What does an Octopus even taste like?

The best way I can describe it is nutty and briny, similar to squid. Properly cooked it's firm but a bit softer than squid, and if you're eating the larger tentacles the little sucker discs are practically unchewable and I think they just go down whole with the masticated meat.

 

[Pixy]

Crustaceans and octopi are still on the menu, you just have to kill them right before boiling them.

 

[Coldgrip]

The best way I can describe it is nutty and briny, similar to squid. Properly cooked it's firm but a bit softer than squid, and if you're eating the larger tentacles the little sucker discs are practically unchewable and I think they just go down whole with the masticated meat.

I'd say squid is on the sweeter side compared to octopus.

Crustaceans and octopi are still on the menu, you just have to kill them right before boiling them.

They die right fast when you drop them into boiling water.

 

[fineapple]

U got a loicense for that crab m8?

 

[Red Hood]

I saw a mudcrab the other day. Horrible creatures.

 

[theshitposter]

Ehh yet another insane British animal welfare bill with the unspoken aim of making it illegal to eat meat in Britain eventually.

> 1215
Ehh yet another insane peasant welfare bill with the unspoken aim of making it illegal to exploit humans in Brytonlond eventually.

 

[SITHRAK!]

Meanwhile the UK is just fine with kosher and halal slaughter of unstunned mammals, which is a hideously cruel, painful and protracted way of killing.
Good job, Britain!

Couldn't you just kill them with a knife or something and then immediately dunk them in the pot?

You can chop/cut crabs and lobsters just behind the eyes (hence the 'this kills the crab' meme) but doing so allows boiling water into the animal's body and potentially makes the flesh mushy and watery.
In many parts of the world, a humane crustacean kill involves placing the critter in the freezer for ~30 minutes which 'stuns' it to the point it feels little if any pain as long as it hits the boiling water headfirst.

 

[RollerGator]

More sentient than the average brit.

 

[Billy Beer]

People, for the love of fuck sake, DON'T BOIL YOUR LOBSTERS. It is cruel and highly inefficient, and when it goes wrong or doesnt kill them outright, it's a fucking disaster. Trust me.

I can't find the gordon ramsay video on youtube, but he kills it by placing a very sharp butcher/carving knife at the base of its's skull and severing the spinal cord.

Sorry to sperg about this, but there is no need to torture the lobster, waste money boiling water, or fucking around with more washing up.

 

[Extreme Crusader]

People, for the love of fuck sake, DON'T BOIL YOUR LOBSTERS. It is cruel and highly inefficient, and when it goes wrong or doesnt kill them outright, it's a fucking disaster. Trust me.

I can't find the gordon ramsay video on youtube, but he kills it by placing a very sharp butcher/carving knife at the base of its's skull and severing the spinal cord.

Sorry to sperg about this, but there is no need to torture the lobster, waste money boiling water, or fucking around with more washing up.

 

[Kuchipatchi]

You don't want vibrio poisoning, right? Because that's what you get from dead crustacean that sits too long

What? Sit out for 10 seconds? Can't they be put down as soon as they're used for cooking?

 

[Secret Asshole]

Ok, then you have to add:

Killer Whales
Dolphins
Crows
Ravens
Parrots

Octopi are smart, but fucking crabs and lobsters? lol no.

 

[Feline Supremacist]

Meanwhile the UK is just fine with kosher and halal slaughter of unstunned mammals, which is a hideously cruel, painful and protracted way of killing.
Good job, Britain!


You can chop/cut crabs and lobsters just behind the eyes (hence the 'this kills the crab' meme) but doing so allows boiling water into the animal's body and potentially makes the flesh mushy and watery.
In many parts of the world, a humane crustacean kill involves placing the critter in the freezer for ~30 minutes which 'stuns' it to the point it feels little if any pain as long as it hits the boiling water headfirst.

I remember hearing a long thin skewer into the brain right before they go into the pot works better but I'm against animal cruelty so I don't boil lobster, crabs or octopus.

 

[Male Idiot]

I can understand this for smart animals. Dolphins, monkeys, fogs, cats, etc.

Octupus is understandable, but... lobsters?

 

[Finder]

All animals are sentient.

There are a handful of non-sentient animals, sponges are one of them, and I believe most/many echinoderms as well.

 

[teriyakiburns]

This isn't about them being smart, it's about them being able to experience pain. The consensus, for a long time, was that fish, crustaceans and the like were unable to experience pain, but instead would only respond to stimuli autonomically, like machines. That was disproven a long time ago. This is the law just catching up to that, placing them on the same level as other animals and livestock.

Pretty obvious most of you didn't read past the headline. Smells a lot like reddit in here.