Boiling lobsters while they are alive and conscious will be banned as part of a government strategy to improve animal welfare in England.

Government ministers say that “live boiling is not an acceptable killing method” for crustaceans and alternative guidance will be published.

The practice is already illegal in Switzerland, Norway and New Zealand. Animal welfare charities say that stunning lobsters with an electric gun or chilling them in cold air or ice before boiling them is more humane.

  • KiloGex@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Correct. Scientists have done studies on vibrations from plants and they have a reaction to being cut and pulled that could be equated to a “pain” response.

    • Spacenut@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Let’s suppose that you actually genuinely care about reducing the amount of plant suffering in the world. If this is the case, surely you would be vegan, because 3/4 of our total agricultural land is used to grow plants to support animal agriculture. (Since grass feels pain just like soybeans do, this includes pasture land.) So far fewer plants would be killed if everyone was vegan.

      Of course, you don’t actually live your life in a manner consistent with believing plants feel pain. I don’t think anyone would think twice about swerving into some flowers to avoid a dog in the street for fear of causing suffering to the flowers.

      • TronBronson@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        Do you have any idea how many animals and bugs suffer at the hands of your monocultures in to produce soybeans and tofu? They destroy the habitat, poison the ground and the water, and make it impossible for most things to live on vast tracks of land. They interrupt migration patterns of larger animals.

        You guys must all be small scale organic farmers like me! Surely if you cared about all life so much, you would be doing more of your personal space to accommodate? Shall we analyze your diet Friend? Let us discuss what you were eating and how you are acquiring it.

        • TronBronson@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          You’re talking to vegans not biologists or ecologists. They don’t have any idea how their food is grown, or what the ecosystem it’s grown in can support.

          I’ll share your downvotes o7

          • commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            12 hours ago

            much of what animals eat are parts of plants people can’t or won’t eat. I don’t actually believe any fewer plants would be harmed if people were vegan.

              • commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                11 hours ago

                if I grow a plant like corn, and I eat the kernels, and feed the cobs, stalk and ruffage to a cow, only one plant is harmed.

                • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
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                  7 hours ago

                  While this likely pans out with historical methods of meat production, alongside historical quantities of meat consumption, it breaks down when scaled up.

                  This would signal towards a reduced meat consumption across a population. On an individual level, removing meat from the diet would be beneficial to offset those who aren’t reducing.

                  • commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                    1 hour ago

                    On an individual level, removing meat from the diet would be beneficial to offset those who aren’t reducing.

                    maybe it would be if the industry changed it’s production based on consumption. I don’t think that happens though

                • BigAssFan@lemmy.world
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                  9 hours ago

                  Thing is, cattle is also fed with corn. Lots of it. More than you could eat yourself, compared to meat consumption.