【Text/Observer Network Zhou Yibo】
According to the British "Times" local time on July 7 news, the British government is formulating a plan to "ban the cooking of live lobsters" and considering shellfish and cephalopod mollusks into the protection of the Animal Welfare (Perception) Act. The bill, which aims to legally recognise animals' ability to perceive for the first time, is part of the UK's push to advance animal welfare protection reforms, but previously did not cover invertebrates such as lobsters.
The scheme is largely driven by a number of UK animal welfare organisations. These agencies believe that lobsters, crabs, octopuses and other invertebrates are "very smart" and can feel pain, so cooking alive is too cruel, and lobsters should be knocked unconscious or frozen at low temperatures before cooking.
A spokesman for the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was proud that the UK had the highest standards of animal welfare in the world and would do its utmost to ensure that all animals avoided any unnecessary suffering.
The report pointed out that the price of equipment dedicated to stuning lobsters is around 2,500 pounds (about 22,000 yuan), which is difficult for ordinary families to afford. The UK fishing industry catches more than 420 million crustaceans and molluscs a year, and the industry as a whole is likely to oppose the legislation.
In May, the UK government introduced the Animal Welfare (Perception) Bill to Parliament, which for the first time legally recognized the sentient beings of animals as "sentient beings" and is currently under review by the House of Lords.
Under the bill, the UK government will set up an "Animal Sentience Committee" to review whether government policies "adversely affect animal welfare" and have the power to issue reports and ask the Home Secretary for a response.
According to the British government website, after the introduction of the bill, a spokesman for the British Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) pointed out that the bill will raise the standard of animal welfare protection and eradicate cruelty to animals at home and abroad.
Lord Goldsmith, UK Animal Welfare Minister, said: "The UK has always been at the forefront of animal welfare and now that we are out of the EU, we are free to fight for the highest standards of animal welfare anywhere in the world. ”
However, the bill only includes vertebrates other than humans in the scope of legal protection, and does not include invertebrates, which has caused many British animal welfare activists to be dissatisfied.
Screenshot of the Animal Welfare (Perception) Act submitted by the UK Government The UK Parliament website (parliament.uk).
According to the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF), many invertebrates are very smart and can feel pain, but are discriminated against in legislation because "their neural structure is different from ours".
The foundation reportedly cites scientific research showing that octopuses make trade-offs between finding food and avoiding predators, while crayfish remember their behavior and learn from them.
"There is no doubt that crustaceans and cephalopods experience the world in a completely different way than we do. What matters, however, is whether this experience involves conscious experiences of pleasure and pain. We believe the evidence is sufficient. Given the strength of this evidence and the number of animals involved, we'll put aside the question of whether these animals will suffer and instead explore how we can alleviate their suffering. ”
The funding has come from a wide range of sources, including Carrie Johnson, the prime minister's wife, and Lord Goldsmith, the minister of animal welfare, who have also called for expanding the coverage of the Animal Welfare (Perception) Act.
Ultimately, in response to animal welfare activists, the UK government decided to implement a "ban on cooking live lobster" scheme, and has "commissioned an independent external body to review the available scientific evidence and will carefully consider the results of the review" on whether to expand the legislative coverage." ”
Several other countries, including Switzerland, Norway and New Zealand, have explicitly banned the cooking of live lobster.
A spokesman for the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "We are proud to have the highest animal welfare standards in the world and we will do our utmost to strengthen these standards to ensure that all animals avoid any unnecessary suffering. ”
Maisie Tomlinson, head of Crustacean Compassion, an animal welfare agency, said: "It's great to hear that the government plans to support the inclusion of decapods and cephalopods in the emotion bill." There is enough evidence to prove that these sensitive, fascinating creatures can feel pain and suffering. They suffer appalling treatment in the food industry. ”
Cooking lobster social media screenshots
Of course, not allowing lobster to be cooked alive does not mean that lobster cannot be eaten, according to the British Animal Welfare Agency and the Times, but it is not possible to use an "inhumane" way of eating.
Elisabeth Perlman, a reporter for the Times, said that in addition to boiling alive, making crustaceans die of lack of oxygen from water, directly heating them in the microwave, or dismembering them directly with tools are all manifestations of "inhumanity".
Tomlinson pointed out that if all crustaceans, including crabs, lobsters and crayfish, should be coronaed first, so that they are "unconscious in a second."
The report pointed out that the price of equipment dedicated to stuning lobsters is around 2,500 pounds (about 22,000 yuan), which is difficult for ordinary families to afford.
According to the Royal Australian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, another "humane method of cooking" is to freeze the lobster at low temperatures, and if the lobster is below 4 ° C for more than 20 minutes, it will enter a coma.
However, no matter which method is used, to avoid the "inhumane" defined by animal welfare agencies, it is necessary to use a precise knife worker, and the lobster can quickly cut off its nervous system when it is unconscious, before it can be put into the pot and cooked.
British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey demonstrates a quick way to cut off lobster nerves video screenshot
The Times noted that the Uk government's "ban on cooking live lobsters" scheme is likely to be opposed by the fishing industry, which captures more than 420 million crustaceans and molluscs a year. According to the definition of animal welfare agencies, the vast majority of these fishing practices are "inhumane".
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