The processing of shellfish including crabs, lobsters, and crayfish requires welfare-appropriate methods given growing evidence for crustacean sentience.
Shellfish processing welfare has gained regulatory and public attention following crustacean sentience recognition. Traditional methods including live boiling and splitting without prior stunning are increasingly scrutinised. The CrustaStun device provides commercially feasible humane killing that is used by some premium processors. Consumer-facing communication about humane killing creates market incentives for welfare improvement. Processing facility welfare standards are an emerging regulatory area. The scale of shellfish processing means that small improvements in killing method humaneness benefit very large numbers of animals.