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Placing live, conscious lobsters into boiling water will be banned in England under new government plans to raise animal welfare standards. Ministers said the practice causes unnecessary suffering and confirmed that alternative guidance on humane killing methods for crustaceans will be issued.
The government said “live boiling is not an acceptable killing method” for animals such as lobsters. Similar bans are already in place in Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand. Animal welfare groups argue that methods such as electrical stunning or chilling lobsters in cold air or ice before boiling are more humane.
The proposed ban builds on legislation introduced by the Conservatives in 2022, which recognised invertebrates, including octopuses, crabs, and lobsters, as sentient beings capable of feeling pain. Ben Sturgeon, chief executive of Crustacean Compassion, welcomed the move, saying, “When live, conscious animals are placed into boiling water, they endure several minutes of excruciating pain. This is torture and completely avoidable. Humane alternatives, like electrical stunning, are readily available.”
Broader reforms and political reaction
The lobster ban forms part of a wider Labour animal welfare strategy announced earlier in December. Other measures include plans to outlaw hen cages and pig farrowing crates, end puppy farming, consult on banning electric shock collars for dogs and introduce humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish.
The proposals also tighten hunting rules, with a ban on shooting hares during the breeding season and an end to trail hunting, where an animal-based scent trail is laid for dogs to follow while riders chase on horseback. Labour pledged in its manifesto to extend the 2005 foxhunting ban to trail hunting, which animal welfare charities describe as a “smokescreen” for continued fox killing.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, criticised the plans as “authoritarian control freakery”, adding, “You might as well ban walking dogs in the countryside, as they chase rabbits, hares, deer, and foxes.”
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View AllPolling suggests strong public support for tougher hunting rules. YouGov found last year that 29% of Reform voters believed hunting wild animals was acceptable, compared with 65% who said it was not, while 21% thought hunting with dogs should be allowed.
A Labour source said, “When it comes to being in touch with the priorities of working people, the horse has very much bolted for Nigel Farage. Time and again, he’s putting himself on the wrong side of issues which will keep the former Tories he’s stuffing his party with happy, but will do nothing to deliver a fairer future for Britain.
“While Farage focuses on defending hunts that are often used as a smokescreen for killing wild animals, Labour is dealing with outdated laws which permit poor animal welfare practices. And at the same time we’re cutting the cost of living, reducing waiting lists and delivering the change working people voted for.”
The Green party broadly welcomed the plans but said ministers could go further by ending greyhound racing, which faces a ban in Wales by
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