Evidence that crabs experience pain has grown substantially, leading to legal protection in several countries and raising questions about boiling crustaceans alive in commercial contexts.
Crabs crushed, boiled alive, or kept in tanks at low oxygen concentrations may experience prolonged suffering if they are sentient as the evidence suggests. Electrical stunning before killing renders them insensible in seconds. The gap between the scientific evidence for crab sentience and standard commercial practice is enormous and growing.