Science & Technology

Study: Shellfish Feel Pain

"Tremendous" pain for lobsters boiled alive, for example

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Shellfish, such as crabs, lobsters and shrimp, feel pain, suggests a new study that calls into question how food and aquaculture industries treat these animals.

Researchers have suspected for some time that live lobsters dunked into boiling water and rubber-banded crustaceans stored in crowded fish market tanks experience tremendous pain. We reported on that some years back. But it's always a challenge for scientists to prove conclusively that a non-human is feeling pain.