Crabs and lobsters were included in UK animal welfare sentience recognition in 2021, following a landmark review of the evidence. Their welfare in commercial fisheries and live sale remains largely unregulated, creating a significant gap between recognition and protection.
Crustacean welfare represents a frontier in animal ethics where scientific evidence has moved faster than policy and practice. The 2021 LSE review concluded that the evidence for crustacean sentience is sufficient to justify the precautionary principle: these animals should be treated as though they can suffer until conclusive evidence otherwise is established. Current commercial practice — live storage without food, killing by boiling or crushing while conscious — is inconsistent with this recognition. The most urgent welfare improvements are adoption of electrical pre-stunning or mechanical crushing before boiling, improved lairage conditions during live storage, and consumer education about more humane killing methods. These are achievable at low cost and would substantially reduce suffering for billions of individuals.