The UK government is set to introduce a ban on boiling lobsters and other crustaceans while they are alive and conscious, as part of a significant new strategy to improve animal welfare in England.
Humane Alternatives for Crustaceans
Government ministers have declared that "live boiling is not an acceptable killing method" for creatures like crabs and lobsters. The move follows scientific recognition in a 2022 law that invertebrates are sentient beings capable of feeling pain.
Instead, new official guidance will promote more humane methods. Animal welfare charities, such as Crustacean Compassion, recommend stunning lobsters with an electric gun or chilling them in cold air or ice before cooking. These practices are already mandated in countries including Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand.
Ben Sturgeon, chief executive of Crustacean Compassion, welcomed the planned prohibition. He stated: "When live, conscious animals are placed into boiling water, they endure several minutes of excruciating pain. This is torture and completely avoidable. Humane alternatives, like electrical stunning, are readily available."
A Comprehensive Animal Welfare Package
The lobster ban is a single component of a broader, long-awaited Labour animal welfare strategy announced on Monday. The wide-ranging proposals include several other major reforms:
- Outlawing the use of hen cages and pig farrowing crates.
- Ending puppy farming and consulting on a ban for electric shock dog collars.
- Introducing humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish.
- Tightening hunting rules, including a ban on shooting hares during breeding season.
Closing the Trail Hunting 'Smokescreen'
A particularly contentious element of the plan is the pledge to end trail hunting, where an animal-based scent is laid for hounds to follow. Labour's manifesto committed to extending the 2005 foxhunting ban to cover this practice, which animal welfare charities argue is used as a "smokescreen" for the illegal killing of foxes.
The move has drawn criticism from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who labelled it "authoritarian control freakery." However, polling suggests public opinion is against him. A YouGov survey last year found that 65% of voters believe hunting wild animals is unacceptable, with only 21% supporting hunting with dogs.
A Labour source hit back, saying: "While Farage focuses on defending hunts... Labour is dealing with outdated laws which permit poor animal welfare practices."
The Green party has largely welcomed the government's plans but urged ministers to go further by also moving to end greyhound racing, which faces a potential ban in Wales by 2030.
