Crabs are harvested and held alive in large numbers globally, with growing welfare science suggesting their capacity for pain warrants improved handling and slaughter practices.
Crab welfare has gained scientific and legislative attention following studies demonstrating their capacity for avoidance learning and nociceptive responses. Live storage in stacked, ice-packed containers causes stress, injury, and progressive deterioration. Dismembering live crabs causes behavioural and physiological responses consistent with pain. Boiling live crabs without prior stunning — while a common practice — may cause suffering during the time before death. Electrical stunning using purpose-designed devices produces immediate insensibility in crabs and is increasingly adopted in welfare-conscious operations. The UK's legislative recognition of decapod sentience has driven UK food service operators to adopt improved crab handling standards.