Labour bans controversial cooking method in animal cruelty crackdown | UK | News
Boiling live lobsters will be banned under the government’s new animal welfare strategy after the practice was deemed an “unacceptable method of killing”. The new law, which is based on legislation introduced by the Conservative Party in 2022 stating that invertebrates such as crabs and lobsters feel pain as much as other animals, will ban the cooking method, which is already banned in Norway, Switzerland and New Zealand. Animal welfare measures announced on Monday will also require cooks to bring decapods such as octopus and squid, as well as prawns and prawns, to a more humane end.
The move has been praised by charities including Crustacean Compassion. Ben Sturgeon, the company’s chief executive, said cooking live animals amounted to “several minutes of excruciating pain” and “entirely avoidable torture”. Some criticized the long-awaited strategy; This includes David Jarrad, chief executive of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain; He said it would cost businesses more and could end the trade in live shellfish.
Mr. Jarrad told Telegram: “Our concern in the UK is that restaurants and hotels are importing frozen seafood from abroad if they do not want to purchase stunning equipment which costs around £3,500.”
Labor has also promised to ban stalking, outlaw chicken cages and piggery crates, require the humane slaughter of farmed fish and end puppy farming as part of its new strategy.
Reform England leader Nigel Farage criticized the announcement as “authoritarian control frenzy”. “Now Labor wants to ban stalking,” he wrote to X. “You could also ban dogs that chase rabbits, hares, deer and foxes from being walked in the countryside.”
Announcing the plans, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds declared the UK “a nation of animal lovers” and described it as “the most ambitious animal welfare strategy in a generation”.
A Labor source said: Guard: “When it comes to getting in touch with the priorities of working people, Nigel Farage is way off the deep end. He repeatedly puts himself on the wrong side of issues that would keep the old Tories with whom he populates his party happy, but does nothing to deliver a fairer future for Britain.”
“Farage is focused on defending hunts, which are often used as smokescreens to kill wild animals, while Labor is tackling outdated laws that allow poor animal welfare practices. And at the same time we’re cutting costs of living, cutting waiting lists and delivering the change workers voted for.”
