Evidence for pain and sentience in crabs and lobsters has strengthened the case for legal protection. Several countries have taken steps to ban or restrict practices like boiling live crustaceans. What does the evidence show?
Crustacean welfare is at a legal inflection point in several countries. The scientific case for crustacean sentience is now strong enough that multiple governments have extended formal welfare protections. The practical welfare concerns are concentrated in two areas: live cooking without prior stunning in restaurants and homes, and the conditions of live storage in commercial fisheries. Both are addressable through relatively simple changes -- stunning devices exist and are affordable, and live storage conditions can be improved without major infrastructure investment. Consumer choices about whether to purchase live crustaceans, and how to kill them, have direct welfare implications.