Growing scientific evidence suggests that many aquatic invertebrates including crabs, lobsters, cuttlefish, and squid may have the capacity to experience pain and stress, with major implications for their treatment.
The extension of welfare consideration to aquatic invertebrates represents a significant expansion of our ethical circle. The science is not settled, but the evidence base for some capacity for suffering in decapods and cephalopods is substantial. Precautionary welfare principles suggest that where there is reasonable evidence of sentience, we should minimise suffering. This has practical implications for how lobsters and crabs are handled, transported, and killed in commercial and domestic settings. The sheer scale of invertebrate capture makes this one of the most numerically significant animal welfare issues in existence.