- According to a new animal welfare bill, the UK may soon ban live cooking of lobster.
- If the law is passed, it will consider that invertebrates such as lobsters and crabs have sensory capabilities and can feel pain.
- The animal welfare regulations will also mandate the humane dispatch of invertebrates.
- For more stories, please visit www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
If you live in the UK, putting live lobster directly in the pot may quickly mean that you are breaking the law.
A landmark animal welfare legislation is being passed through the British parliamentary system, according to reports London evening standardAccording to the new amendments to the Animal Welfare (Perception) Act, molluscs such as lobsters, crabs, octopuses and squids will be regarded as sentient beings who can feel pain.
The bill previously only covered vertebrates. But the amendment will require chefs and fishmongers to dispatch molluscs quickly and humanely by stunning them, rather than immersing them directly in boiling water.
In addition, the evening standard states that wrapping live shellfish in shrink wrap or sending crustaceans by mail may be prohibited.
New regulations give molluscs more rights Now under consideration in the House of Lords.
According to the British news website independent, The regulation was introduced after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised that his government would consider the feelings and welfare of creatures when drafting new policies.
However, the idea that lobsters may suffer unnecessary pain during cooking is not new.A report issued by the National Security Bureau Humane Society of the United States It was recognized in 2008 that crustaceans are also “sentient animals capable of enduring pain.” The report also pointed out that crustaceans will not die immediately due to common slaughter methods like a knife piercing the head, because they do not have a central nervous system.
British daily era Talked to Maisie Tomlinson, an animal welfare activist who was British charity crustacean sympathyWho said the best way to kill a lobster humanely is to stun it with electricity.
“Crabs, lobsters, shrimps, and crayfish should be stunned by electric shocks to make (them) unconscious within a second,” Tomlinson told The Times. “Then you need to make sure its nervous system is destroyed within a few minutes.”
Currently, it is illegal to cook crustaceans live in some countries, including Switzerland and New Zealand.
