Lobsters are captured alive, and before they are brutally killed in restaurants or homes, they endure a great deal of suffering through this cruel trade.
The animal agriculture industry treats sentient beings as commodities rather than individuals with feelings, and the lobster industry is no exception. The lobster trade is an industry steeped in suffering. Every year, over 300 million lobsters are taken from their ocean homes and subjected to immense cruelty throughout their journey in the marine animal flesh industry.
The global lobster market was valued at $7.20 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Maine alone (one of the world’s top regions of the industry) trades over 100 million pounds of lobsters’ bodies annually, contributing more than $1 billion to its economy. There is, though, one trait of the lobster industry that is unique: the animals are often kept alive through most of the process, traded alive, displayed alive in stores and supermarkets, and even sold alive to customers, who are the ones who will kill them at home, often very brutally.
The most commonly traded lobster species span various regions and include both clawed and spiny lobsters. Among the clawed lobsters, the American lobster (Homarus americanus) dominates the market in North America, particularly in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Similarly, the European lobster (Homarus gammarus), found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, is highly sought after in Europe. Another significant species is the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus), also known as langoustine or Dublin Bay prawn, which is a key commercial crustacean in Europe. In the spiny lobster category, species like the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus), Japanese spiny lobster (Panulirus japonicus), and Southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) are widely traded. These species are often caught using pots or traps, a process which allows them to be traded alive.
Who Are the Lobsters?
Lobsters are a type of crustacean (in turn a type of Arthropod, who are invertebrate animals with an articulated external skeleton) belonging to the Order Decapoda, so named because they have ten legs. They have sophisticated internal digestive and circulatory organs, as well as various sensory organs such as sensitive antennae and complex eyes. They have a central nervous system that includes a brain formed by ganglia close to the antennae, and a collection of major ganglia is found below the gut. Therefore, they are sentient beings with the capacity to suffer.
The body of a crustacean is composed of segments, which are grouped into the cephalon or head, the pereon or thorax, and the pleon or abdomen. In lobsters and crabs, the head and thorax are fused to form a cephalothorax. Their exoskeletons are made of hard fibrous chitin–protein tissue containing calcium carbonate minerals.
Lobsters and spiny lobsters differ significantly in their physical characteristics, habitats, and behaviours. True lobsters, such as the American lobsters (Homarus americanus), which are sometimes called Maine Lobsters, and the European lobsters (Homarus gammarus), possess large, powerful claws used for feeding and defence. These claws are a defining feature of true lobsters and contain tender, edible meat highly prized in culinary markets. In contrast, spiny lobsters, which belong to the Palinuridae family (e.g., Panulirus argus and Panulirus japonicus), lack these enlarged claws. Instead, they have long, spiny antennae that serve sensory and defensive purposes. Their bodies are covered in forward-pointing spines for protection against predators. Habitat preferences also set them apart: true lobsters thrive in colder waters, such as the Western Atlantic Coast, while spiny lobsters prefer warmer regions like the Caribbean Sea and Indo-Pacific waters. Additionally, true lobsters can live up to 100 years, whereas spiny lobsters typically have shorter lifespans of around 50 years. Spiny lobsters are thought to be social animals and gather in groups of 12 or more, migrating in long chains across the ocean floor, up to 50 lobsters at a time.
Lobsters are extraordinary beings who live complex lives in their natural habitats. They can live over a century, form social bonds, and even carry their offspring for nine months. Lobsters’ eyes are set on stalks, which enables them to see all around and in different directions at once. They sense the world through hairs on their body, which are sensitive to touch, sound, smell, taste, and temperature. Their senses are so fine-tuned that they can detect temperature changes of just one degree. Lobsters have a special enzyme called telomerase, which means they keep growing and become stronger and more fertile the older they get. Like many crustaceans, lobsters shed their shells (moult), and one of their claws can exert pressure of up to 100 pounds per square inch. Lobsters perform courtship dances before the female heads into the male’s cave to stay there for two weeks. After mating, they migrate up to 160 km each year to find the best place for their fragile young.
Lobsters from the families Nephropidae, Palinuridae, and Scyllaridae are also farmed in animal factories. The most commonly farmed spiny lobster, the ornate spiny lobster (Panulirus ornatus), is widely farmed due to its high market value, particularly in Southeast Asia and Australia. Another notable species is the scalloped spiny lobster (Panulirus homarus), farmed in tropical regions such as Indonesia and India. For clawed lobsters, the European lobster (Homarus gammarus) is being farmed in facilities like the Whitby Lobster Hatchery in the UK, and the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) in Norway.
Lobsters Are Recognised Sentient Beings
A 2005 report by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for the European Commission concluded that the largest of the decapods have a pain system and complex cognitive capacity and therefore were assigned Category 1 status (animals who can experience pain and distress). The report states, “The largest of these animals [decapod crustaceans] are complex in behaviour and appear to have some degree of awareness. They have a pain system and considerable learning ability.”
In the most progressive countries (New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, UK, Canada, and EU nations), species increasingly acknowledged to be legally sentient for legislation purposes include now some invertebrates, in particular cephalopods (a type of mollusc which includes octopus, cuttlefish, and squid), and crustacean decapods. This does not mean that only decapods are sentient crustaceans, but what it means is that their sentience is so obvious that there are no longer excuses to not recognise them officially as sentient beings.
Decapod crustaceans are also included as protected animals in the UK legislation that deals with animals in scientific procedures. Additionally, in 2022, octopuses and decapod crustaceans became the first invertebrates to be officially considered sentient beings under UK law — although this is mostly symbolic, as the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the law that would protect farmed crustaceans, does not include them.
There are even animal protection organisations exclusively dedicated to the protection of crustaceans. Since 2020, Crustacean Compassion has been campaigning for the humane treatment of crabs, lobsters, and other decapod crustaceans in the UK. They engage with legislators and policymakers to strengthen and enforce animal welfare laws and policies, and they seek to educate both the public and policymakers on the science of decapod crustacean sentience and their humane treatment.
The Suffering of Lobsters
Despite the recognition of their sentience, lobsters endure unimaginable torment at the hands of humans, not only those bred on farms but also those directly captured from the sea. This is because, instead of killing them straight away as happens with fishes, they are kept alive until the very last moment before cooking them.
Lobsters are shipped alive across vast distances, often starved for days to reduce oxygen needs during transport. Many arrive dead due to inadequate conditions or suffocate in clingfilm packaging.
In restaurants and markets worldwide, live lobsters are kept captive in tanks for months with their claws banded — a practice that causes muscle atrophy and immense stress. Workers who are paid to kill lobsters often do it cruelly. In one notable case in Sydney, Australia, representatives of a “seafood” store were convicted of animal cruelty after video evidence showed lobsters being butchered alive with no attempt to render them unconscious beforehand.
Either in restaurants or in people’s homes, lobsters are often boiled alive — a practice so cruel that it has been banned in countries such as Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand. As they claw frantically at the pot in a desperate bid for life, their suffering is undeniable. This method is justified by claims that bacteria in lobster flesh could harm humans if the animals are not cooked immediately after death. However, this justification does not absolve the ethical implications of such barbarity.
Despite their sentience and suffering, lobsters remain largely unprotected by animal welfare laws in most of the world, but even in the countries where they have more protection, this often is not implemented, and exceptions are allowed, which makes the practice of boiling them alive continue. In 2024, the Animal Law Foundation, a collective of lawyers who advocate for a “robust legal framework” to protect animals, considered taking legal action against the UK government for allowing restaurants to continue to boil lobsters alive, despite these crustaceans are legally considered sentient beings in the UK since the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 was passed. The Animal Law Foundation said to Plant Based News that local authorities are responsible for enforcing welfare laws at the time of the killing. This organisation also said it obtained footage of someone mishandling a lobster and boiling them alive, but Birmingham City Council refused to enforce welfare laws, citing “a lack of clarity from the central government” as to what the welfare law means for lobsters.
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