Lobsters and Other Crustaceans Can’t Be
Boiled Alive
Switzerland has made it illegal to throw live
lobsters into boiling water. They and other crustaceans must now be stunned and
“comfortably numb” before they’re killed. The ban is part of the
Swiss government’s efforts to improve the country’s animal-protection laws.
Legislation protecting lobsters and other
crustaceans is beyond overdue. PETA videos show live lobsters’ limbs torn off while they’re still
conscious and chefs splitting open their backs, applying butter and salt, and
thrusting them under the grill. And when
they’re plunged into scalding-hot water, they can be seen writhing wildly and
scraping at the sides of the pot in a desperate attempt to
escape. To anyone in a civilized society, this legislation makes sense.
Contrary to claims made by seafood sellers,
scientists have determined that lobsters, like all animals, can feel pain. When kept in tanks, they may suffer from
stress associated with confinement, low oxygen levels, and crowding. Most
scientists agree that a lobster’s nervous system is quite complex. “[T]he
lobster has a rather sophisticated nervous system that, among other things,
allows it to sense actions that will cause it harm,” said invertebrate
zoologist Jaren G. Horsley. “[Lobsters] can, I am sure, sense pain.”
Footage from a shocking eyewitness exposé at
the processing plant of Linda Bean’s Maine Lobster, then operated by the
L.L.Bean heir, shows just how cruelly these animals were treated and how
severely they suffered:
Switzerland
isn’t the first country to give lobsters protective rights. In June, Italy’s
highest court ruled that they can’t be kept on ice “because it causes them
unjustifiable suffering before they head for death by fine dining.”
The Nicest Thing That You
Can Do for Crustaceans Is Refuse to Eat Them
While
this may end one of the cruellest methods of killing these fascinating beings
in Switzerland, there are no laws protecting them from being boiled alive in
other countries—including the U.S. The best way to help all animals is to
leave them off your plate and choose vegan foods instead. Try delicious faux-fish recipes,
and order your free vegan
starter kit today
.
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