Improving welfare of crustaceans

Humane slaughter of animals is a priority for all animals used for food.

Recent evidence demonstrates that decapod crustaceans (lobsters, crabs, shrimps and prawns) may experience pain and as such should be stunned to render them unconscious before killing.

However, there is limited information on the extent to which these animals process pain and further what methods can be used to stun them. The proposed project aims, firstly, to identify if pain receptors exist in crustaceans by using electrophysiology.

Secondly, determine whether decapods are willing to pay a cost to access pain relief, a key criterion in the definition of animal pain, assessed by behavioural experiments.

We shall identify the most effective and humane stunning methods exploring the duration of stun and unconsciousness and if central nervous processing is disrupted affecting subsequent memory retrieval. We will also monitor indicators of stress and also how muscle quality is affected by stunning.

To influence industry practice, taste tests will be held in restaurants to identify if taste differs between stunned and non-stunned crustaceans and, finally, we will use the data to refine the stunning equipment and parameters used by our industry partners, Optimar and Ace Aquatec.

The findings can inform humane killing of a variety of commercially valuable crustacean species in fisheries, aquaculture, on-land processing and in restaurants thus safeguarding the welfare of crabs, lobsters, shrimps and prawns.