Edible crabs caught in UK coastal fisheries experience welfare challenges from pot capture, live transport, and pre-slaughter practices as evidence for crustacean sentience grows.
Edible crabs captured in pot fisheries and held live for market represent an increasingly significant welfare issue as scientific evidence for crustacean pain capacity grows. Time in pots without food, exposure to air during landing, and live storage in holding tanks all potentially cause suffering. Traditional killing methods including live boiling and live dismemberment are now considered inhumane in countries that have adopted precautionary welfare standards. The shift to mandated electrical or mechanical stunning before killing represents the current evidence-based welfare standard.