The continued practice of boiling lobsters alive as a method of slaughter in Wales is outdated and completely unacceptable, causing severe and prolonged suffering.
The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 recognises all decapod crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and crayfish as sentient - able to experience complex feelings such as pain, suffering, fear and pleasure.
Under the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (Wales) Regulations 2014, it is an offence to restrain, stun or kill an animal in a way that may ‘cause any avoidable pain, distress or suffering to that animal’. These provisions apply to all invertebrates, including decapod crustaceans.
Based on this legislation, the regulations and the existence of alternative methods, we have argued that boiling alive is avoidable and therefore illegal.
This opinion is supported by the UK Government which, in December 2025, committed to publish guidance on the killing of decapods, including ‘clarifying that live boiling is not an acceptable killing method’.
Despite this, the Welsh Senedd has made no commitment to clarify the situation for the public, and crustaceans continue to be boiled alive in Wales, in contravention of the law and its own regulations on killing.
It is time for the Welsh Government to act and end this inhumane and unnecessary practice.
