The practice of boiling lobsters alive has become one of the most publicly debated crustacean welfare issues, with scientific evidence increasingly supporting the existence of pain experience in decapods.
Lobster welfare has transitioned from a fringe welfare concern to mainstream regulatory attention following robust reviews of the sentience evidence. The behavioral and neurological evidence for decapod pain experience is now considered sufficient to justify welfare consideration and precautionary humane treatment under the policies of several national governments. The welfare case for stunning before killing is strengthened by the availability of practical commercial solutions and the modest costs involved. Humane killing through electric stunning followed by splitting or drowning in freshwater reduces or eliminates suffering during the killing process without affecting culinary quality.