Scientific evidence increasingly supports the view that crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters, and shrimp have the capacity for pain and suffering, with major implications for their treatment in food production.
Crustaceans possess nociceptors, exhibit pain-consistent behaviours, and show preference learning that suggests subjective experience. Boiling lobsters alive, a common practice, causes prolonged heat injury before death. The shrimp industry processes billions of animals annually with little attention to stunning or humane slaughter. The precautionary principle and emerging legal recognition mean welfare practices for crustaceans deserve urgent development and adoption.