A culinary instructor at Nova Scotia Community College in Cape Breton is educating students on preparing and euthanizing lobsters in a more humane manner. Adam White, who has a background as a chef and 20 years of experience as an instructor, has adopted a method influenced by research from England. The UK has announced plans to outlaw the boiling of lobsters alive by 2030, recognizing their capacity to feel pain under the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act.
White emphasizes the importance of humane treatment when preparing animals for consumption, acknowledging the necessity of either boiling or euthanizing lobsters. Traditionally, lobsters were boiled alive in salty water for 11 to 14 minutes. However, evolving practices have shifted towards more humane methods like swiftly piercing the lobster with a knife before cooking. White’s current approach involves freezing the lobsters for 20 to 30 minutes to reduce their pain sensitivity, followed by a quick euthanization by inserting a knife between their eyes.
Countries like Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand have already prohibited the boiling of lobsters alive. The decision in England to phase out this practice was prompted by a comprehensive review conducted by the London School of Economics, which highlighted the pain sensitivity of crustaceans and cephalopods based on research by Professor Robert Elwood from Queen’s University Belfast. Elwood’s experiments on crabs revealed stress responses indicative of pain rather than mere reflex actions, prompting a reevaluation of traditional cooking methods.
In light of this evidence, Elwood advocates for the adoption of more humane euthanization techniques for lobsters to minimize suffering. Despite these advancements, Nova Scotia’s Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture has stated that there are currently no plans to revise existing practices within the province.
