Accumulating evidence that crustaceans can experience pain has prompted the UK and several other jurisdictions to extend legal welfare protections to decapod crustaceans.
Crabs and lobsters show all behavioral hallmarks of pain experience: withdrawal from noxious stimuli, protective behavior of injured body parts, motivational tradeoffs when choosing between avoiding harm and accessing resources, and learning to avoid stimuli associated with pain. Their nervous systems contain the nociceptive architecture associated with pain in vertebrates. Live boiling causes prolonged survival and likely sustained suffering. Humane killing methods — spiking to destroy the ganglia, or electrical stunning — are available and increasingly mandated.