Most of us enjoy seafood, and everyone agrees that when we kill animals to eat, we should

do it as humanely as possible.

Yet the standard practice when it comes to lobsters and crabs is to tear them apart or

boil them alive, which are about as barbaric as it gets.

The reason is that the common belief is that crustaceans don't feel pain.

Luckily, today we've been able to use science to put this belief to the test, and find out

once and for all whether it's time for this practice to change.

Do lobsters feel pain is coming up next on Skeptoid.

You're listening to Skeptoid.

I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.

Do lobsters feel pain?

Among those issues that sharply divide certain groups is the question of whether crabs

and lobsters feel pain.

We tear crabs apart while they're alive and throw lobsters into boiling cauldrons.

Barbaric actions, unless of course those animals lack the physiological ability to feel

pain and suffering, as many people believe.

For some, this live preparation of crustaceans is a way of life.

For others, humanely rendering the animal's dead or insensitive first is a moral imperative.

Today, we're going to look at what the research has shown and see if we can find a science-based

answer to the question of whether crustaceans should be humanely killed before cooking.

Our subjects today are crustaceans.

Namely the decapod crustaceans, the 10-footed ones, including lobsters, crabs, shrimp,

...