P-05-937 STOP BOILING CRUSTACEANS ALIVE (lobsters, crabs, crayfish, prawns etc)
P-05-937 STOP BOILING CRUSTACEANS ALIVE (lobsters, crabs, crayfish, prawns etc)
This
petition was submitted by Cardiff Animal Rights having collected 1,253
signatures online and 505 on paper, a total of 2,008 signatures.
Text of Petition
We call on the National
Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to implement greater protection
for crustaceans and to ban the cruel practice of boiling lobsters, crabs
crayfish, prawns etc alive.
Zoologists have found
that, unlike humans, lobsters and other crustaceans DON'T have the ability to
go into 'shock,' so when they are plunged into a pot of BOILING water, their
suffering is prolonged. When other animals, including humans, experience
extreme pain, their nervous system shuts down as a coping mechanism. Scientists
have found that it takes lobsters & crabs up to 45 seconds to die when
plunged into a pot of BOILING water (something which would be considered
completely unacceptable in a vertebrate animal like a cow or a pig). To give
this perspective, if they are dismembered their nervous system can still
function for up to an hour.
The Animal Welfare Act is
designed to protect animals on the understanding that sentient creatures can
feel pain and we have a moral duty NOT to cause suffering. The Act makes it an
offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any animal, both in their keeping and
at the time of slaughter. It means that people or organisations who neglect or
abuse 'protected' animals can be prosecuted. 'Farmed animals', fish and
reptiles are all protected under this Act. However, invertebrates such as crabs
and lobsters, crayfish & prawns are not.
Moreover, live crustaceans
have been found for sale awaiting their fate on ice trays, packaged and bound
tightly in tanks or plastic to be slaughtered at home by the customer. It is
considered an act of animal cruelty to boil a lobster alive in Switzerland. The
Swiss now need to stun or kill animals before boiling them and lobsters can't
be kept alive on ice.
Extend the Animal Welfare
Act 2006 to include crustaceans including Lobsters, crabs, prawns &
crayfish etc.
Status
This petition was
considered completed by the Petitions Committee at its meeting on 09/05/2022.
The
Committee considered the petition and noted the Minister’s response which
highlights the progress of the Animal
Welfare (Sentience) Bill and that officials are engaging with Defra on this
matter. In light of the ongoing work on the issue the Committee agreed to close
the petition and thank the petitioner.
Full
details of the consideration of this petition by the Committee and related
documents can be seen on the Meetings tab above.
It
was first considered by the Petitions Committee on 04/02/2020.
Senedd Constituency and
Region
- Cardiff North
- South Wales Central
Further
information
Business type: Petition
Reason considered: Senedd Business;
Status: For consideration
First published: 27/01/2020