The UK government has announced a ban on boiling lobsters alive, part of a broader animal welfare strategy for England. Ministers declared that 'live boiling is not an acceptable killing method' for crustaceans, and new guidance will be issued. The practice is already illegal in Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand.
Animal welfare charities advocate for stunning lobsters with an electric gun or chilling them before boiling, which they consider more humane. The ban builds on a 2022 Conservative law recognising octopuses, crabs, and lobsters as sentient beings capable of feeling pain.
Ben Sturgeon, chief executive of Crustacean Compassion, welcomed the plans, stating that placing live, conscious animals into boiling water inflicts several minutes of excruciating pain, calling it 'torture' that is 'completely avoidable' with humane alternatives like electrical stunning.
The Labour strategy, announced on Monday, also includes outlawing hen cages and pig farrowing crates, ending puppy farming, consulting on banning electric shock collars for dogs, and introducing humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish. Additionally, the proposals tighten hunting rules, including a ban on shooting hares during the breeding season and an end to trail hunting.
Labour pledged in its manifesto to extend the 2005 foxhunting ban to trail hunting, which animal welfare charities claim is used as a 'smokescreen' to continue killing foxes. Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, criticised the move as 'authoritarian control freakery', suggesting it could lead to banning dog walking if they chase wildlife.
Polling by YouGov last year found that 29% of Reform voters considered hunting wild animals acceptable, compared to 65% who did not. A Labour source dismissed Farage's concerns, stating that while he focuses on defending hunts, Labour is addressing outdated animal welfare laws and delivering on working people's priorities.
