CRUSTACEAN COMPASSION

Thanks to our work, Defra have now commissioned an independent consultation on the ability of decapod crustaceans (and cephalopod molluscs like octopus) to feel pain; and on the impact of industry practices on their welfare. And the Humane Slaughter Association has recently commissioned a piece of research worth £1.93 million that includes research and development into humane methods of slaughtering crustaceans.

We have shown that the animal welfare movement speaks with one voice - 41 animal welfare organisations think decapod crustaceans should be protected in animal welfare law. Organisations like the RSPCA and Scotland's OneKind now campaign for the protection of decapods, and the RSPCA awarded us the 2019 Campaign Award for our work.

We have shown that the experts agree - our open letter (see below) has been signed by eminent scientists, veterinary professionals, lawyers, actors, comedians and wildlife experts, including the RSPCA and the British Veterinary Association, asking the government to protect them in animal welfare law.

We have shown that this issue is of public concern - over 50,000 people want decapod crustaceans protected in UK animal welfare law as shown by the signatures on our public petition

This is what we have achieved so far:

Crustacean Compassion argues that it is not; and that based on scientific evidence which shows it is likely that crabs and lobsters feel pain, decapod crustaceans should now receive full protection under the UK’s animal welfare laws, just like they are protected in Norway, Switzerland, Austria, some Australian territories and New Zealand. Our current campaign calls for crustaceans to be included in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 of England and Wales and in the new Sentience Bill proposed by Michael Gove in 2018. We also recognise that industry has a role to play in improving the welfare of these animals and we want to encourage companies to meet increasing consumer demand by selling higher welfare products across their shellfish product ranges.

But is our indifferent response to these animals morally justifiable or legally consistent?

With their peculiar appearance and mysterious lives, crustaceans like crabs, lobsters, prawns and crayfish are often thought to be insensible to pain or suffering. In the UK, they are not covered by animal welfare legislation and therefore receive no protection from inhumane handling, storage or slaughter in the food industry. Boiling live lobsters is common practice.

Scientists, lawyers, comedians, actors and wildlife experts call on Michael Gove to protect lobsters, crabs and other decapod crustaceans in animal welfare law

Rt Hon Michael Gove MP

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Nobel House

17 Smith Square

Westminster

London SW1P 3JR

31st January 2018

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Dear Minister,

We the undersigned write out of concern for the welfare of decapod crustaceans who remain unprotected by animal welfare legislation. Based on recent compelling scientific evidence that they are sentient and therefore can experience pain, and in light of the extreme practices they are subjected to, we call on the government to include decapod crustaceans under the definition of ‘animal’ in the Animal Welfare Bill (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) and in the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Decapod crustaceans are protected under animal welfare legislation in Norway, Switzerland, Austria, New Zealand and some Australian states and territories; as well as in some regions of Germany and Italy. Yet in the UK, decapods fall outside of the legal definition of ‘animal’ in the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and so there is currently no legal requirement for food processors, supermarkets or restaurants to consider their welfare during storage, handling or killing. However, Section 1 of the Act provides for the inclusion of invertebrates of any description “if the appropriate national authority is satisfied, on the basis of scientific evidence, that animals of the kind concerned are capable of experiencing pain or suffering” (Animal Welfare Act, 2006). Since the Animal Welfare Act 2006 was introduced, a body of scientific evidence has emerged which strongly indicates that decapod crustaceans do not merely respond to nociceptive stimuli, but are capable of experiencing pain. Avoidance learning, rapid behaviour change, prolonged rubbing of affected areas, the laying down of memories, and motivational trade-offs are among the criteria for pain experience that have been observed. A scientific summary is attached.

Despite this evidence, decapods are frequently seen crammed together in brightly lit tanks in food retail establishments with no consideration for their welfare; are frequently sold live to the consumer for amateur home storage and killing; and have even been found for sale live yet entirely immobilised in shrink-wrap. There is no economic or culinary reason why decapods cannot be humanely dispatched, yet killing is sometimes preceded by breaking off the legs, head or tail, and is often accomplished by boiling alive. Roth and Øines (2010) estimate that an edible crab boiled alive may remain conscious for at least three minutes.

More than 23,000 people have signed a petition online (change.org, 2018) and on paper to include decapods in the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and 41 animal welfare organisations have supported this recommendation in a joint post-Brexit animal welfare manifesto (Wildlife and Countryside Link, 2018). Given the strength of the existing evidence, the scale of suffering involved, and the public interest in this issue, we believe that the time has come to join other nations in recognising the sentience of these animals.

Yours sincerely,

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1

Maisie Tomlinson

Campaign Director

Crustacean Compassion

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2

Professor Michael C. Appleby OBE

Honorary Fellow. Expert researcher, educator and author on animal welfare, member of FAWC 2007-16.

University of Edinburgh

3

Bill Bailey

Comedian, Actor, Presenter

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4

Claire Bass

Executive Director

Humane Society International UK

5

Professor Marc Bekoff

Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

University of Colorado, Boulder

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6

Professor Culum Brown

Associate Professor and Assistant Editor of the Journal of Fish Biology

Macquarie University

7

Ian Cawsey

Animal Advocate. Member of Parliament 1997-2010, and Former Chair of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW).

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8

Eddie Clutton Dipl ECVAA MRCA

Director: Wellcome Trust Critical Care Laboratory for Large Animals; Academic Head: Veterinary Anaesthesia / BVSc MRCVS DVA

Roslin Institute, Edinburgh

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9

Dr Alasdair Cochrane

Senior Lecturer in Political Theory

The University of Sheffield

10

Martin Cooke MRCVS

Veterinary Invertebrate Society

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11

Simon Doherty BVMS CertAqV MRCVS MRQA CBiol FRSB

Director / Certified Aquaculture Veterinarian

Blackwater Consultancy Ltd

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12

Peter Egan

Actor and Animal Welfare Campaigner

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13

Professor Bob Evans

Emeritus Professor of History

University of Oxford

14

Ricardo Fajardo

International Animal Welfare Legislative Expert; and El Derecho de los Animales (“Animal Law”) author, 2007

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15

John Fishwick

President, British Veterinary Association; and signing on behalf of the British Veterinary Association

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16

Charles Foster MA, VetMB, PhD, MRCVS

Fellow of Green Templeton College

University of Oxford

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17

Professor Robert Garner

Professor of Politics

University of Leicester

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18

Professor Peter Godfrey-Smith

Professor of History and Philosophy of Science

University of Sydney

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19

Professor Stevan Harnad

Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science Editor, Animal Sentience

University of Southampton

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20

Vanessa Hudson

Leader

Animal Welfare Party

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21

Dr Robert C. Jones

Associate Professor of Philosophy

California State University, Chico

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22

Professor Andrew Knight MANZCVS, DipECAWBM (AWSEL), DipACAW, PhD, FRCVS, SFHEA

Professor of Animal Welfare and Ethics

University of Winchester

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23

Dr Dan Lyons

CEO, Centre for Animals and Social Justice

The University of Sheffield

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24

Dr Heather Maggs

Postdoctoral researcher

University of Reading

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25

Professor Jennifer Mather

Professor, Psychology

University of Lethbridge, AB Canada

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26

Dr Steven McCulloch BVSc BA PhD DipECAWBM(AWSEL) MRCVS

Acting Director, Centre for Animal Welfare. Recognised European Veterinary Specialist in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law /

Centre for Animal Welfare, University of Winchester

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27

Dr Alan McElligott

Reader in Animal Behaviour

University of Roehampton

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28

Dr Dorothy McKeegan

BVA Animal Welfare Foundation Senior Lecturer

University of Glasgow

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29

Fieke Molenaar MSc DZM(Mammalian) MRCVS

President of British Veterinary Zoological Society

British Veterinary Zoological Society

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30

Jean-Marc Neumann

Lawyer LLM, Secretary General of EGALS (Educational Group for Animal Law Studies), Director and Editor of Animal et Droit

31

Chris Packham

Naturalist and Broadcaster

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32

Dr Nick Palmer

Head of Policy

Compassion in World Farming

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33

Dil Peeling BVSc MSc MRCVS

Formerly Senior Policy Officer, Eurogroup for Animals, Brussels

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34

Dr Mirjam Prinz (nee Appel) PhD

Biological Scientist

Bavarian research institute of agriculture, Germany

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35

Mike Radford OBE LLB

Reader in Animal Welfare Law

University of Aberdeen

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36

Ian Redmond OBE CBiol, HonDUni, DSc h.c., FLS

Independent Wildlife Biologist and Conservationist

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37

Paul Roger

Independent Veterinary Consultant and Chair of AWSELVA

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38

Professor Anil K. Seth

Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience; Co-Director, Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science; Editor-in-Chief, Neuroscience of Consciousness

University of Sussex

39

Dr Toni Shephard

Executive Director

Animal Equality

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40

Kellie Shirley

Actress

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41

Alick Simmons

Independent Veterinarian; Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, 2008-2016

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42

Dr Lynne Sneddon B.Sc. (Hons), PhD

Director of Bioveterinary Science

University of Liverpool

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43

Ronnie Soutar BVM&S, MSc, MRCVS

President Fish Veterinary Society

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44

Michaela Strachan

TV Presenter and Conservationist

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45

Dr Cedric Sueur

Head of the masters degree Animal Law and Ethics, Member of the French Council for Animal Experimentation

Université de Strasbourg, France

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46

Dr Alma Swan BSc (Zoology), PhD (Biology)

Private individual

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47

Dr Aurelie Thomas DVM, PhD, DipECAWBM (AWSEL), MRCVS

Named Veterinary Surgeon

Wellcome Sanger Institute

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48

Lord Alexander Trees BVM&S, PhD, DVetMed, DVMS, MRCVS, HonFRSE

Veterinarian/Crossbench Peer

House of Lords

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49

Wendy Turner Webster

TV Presenter

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50

Peter Tutt

Coordinator

The Shellfish Network

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51

Gary Webster

Actor

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52

Professor John Webster MA, Vet MB, PhD, DVM (Hons, London), MRCVS

Emeritus Professor of Animal Husbandry

University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science

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53

Dr Peter Wedderburn BVM&S CertVR MRCVS

Veterinarian

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54

Dr Sean Wensley BVSc MSc Grad.DMS MRCVS

Senior Veterinary Surgeon

PDSA

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55

Dr Julia Wrathall

Chief Scientific Officer

RSPCA