Swiss law prohibits boiling live lobsters due to pain

abc123yyz wrote: ↑ Nobody is saying Not to eat lobsters. But boiling animals alive is unnecessary. Seasoned hunters know not to let the animals that they shoot/kill suffer.

+1. Compassion costs us nothing.

abc123yyz wrote: ↑ If you ever watched Gordon Ramsey in Masterchef he shows how to cook a lobster. He actually mechanically kills the lobster with his knife before boiling the lobster. Great chef know how inhuman it is.

Nice to have a professional chef demonstrate the humane technique. Not sure why some people find it amusing to torture live animals in their kitchens.

MusicBox wrote: ↑ Adolf Hitler was against boiling lobster for the same reason too... google it.

That's actually true!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_we ... zi_Germany

You do learn something from RFD, once in a while.

Statistics101 wrote: ↑ That's actually true!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_we ... zi_Germany

You do learn something from RFD, once in a while.

I'd heard Hitler was an animal lover, but didn't know the extent of it. Absolutely mind numbing that the acts he deplored on animals he put into use against humans (vivisection, slaughterhouses). How does a mind reconcile itself to such hypocrisy?

KellyM133398 wrote: ↑ Nice to have a professional chef demonstrate the humane technique. Not sure why some people find it amusing to torture live animals in their kitchens.

Here is a link. He even says you want to kill the lobster as quickly and humanely as possible.

badOne wrote: ↑you mean I am not supposed to dip the live lobster into boiling water tail first anymore?

Do you live in Switzerland?

sandikosh wrote: ↑I wonder what these law makers think when they watch National Geographic and see a pack of hyenas munching on a still living antelope? Hmm, "let's make it Illegal for other animals to eat each other while still alive! Yeah, that's it!"

Stating the obvious, but it's called being "inhumane" and not "inhyena" for a reason.

abc123yyz wrote: ↑ If you ever watched Gordon Ramsey in Masterchef he shows how to cook a lobster. He actually mechanically kills the lobster with his knife before boiling the lobster. Great chef know how inhuman it is.

Or. equally likely is he is just going through the politically correct motions just to appease critics and avoid any backlash.
It may or may not accurately reflect his beliefs, or be backed by anything factual.
We see lots of this in other ways in today's society.
Sometimes it's less complicated to just go through the motions.

KellyM133398 wrote: ↑ I'd heard Hitler was an animal lover, but didn't know the extent of it. Absolutely mind numbing that the acts he deplored on animals he put into use against humans (vivisection, slaughterhouses). How does a mind reconcile itself to such hypocrisy?

...because other animals are more deserving of compassion vs humans, and I'm only saying this 1/2 tongue in cheek as we all know that ppl's capacity for cruelty knows no bounds. I always laugh at the term 'inhumane', such a misnomer. To be 'inhumane' would mean more compassionate in the realistic use of that word.

I don't know if I've ever even eaten lobster in my life! They can't be that different from crabs. Does the law apply to crabs?

If it eases unnecessary distress then I approve.

If we don't know definitively whether they feel pain/suffering or not, it seems harmless to strike or stun them first. From a culinary point of view, it could also be considered preferable to consume an animal that was less stressed for flavor or texture.

I'm not fan of cross-species anatomical arguments as evidence for lack of function. There are multiple instances of variations in physiology and anatomy across various species, yet parallel functions.

After a comparative neuroscience lecture (in either an evolution or physiology course back in ~2005, yes I am dating myself here), I was stunned to read student peers commenting how perhaps birds were incapable of emotion or affection--akin to feathered lizards (poikilotherms)--as they have relatively larger midbrains and smaller cerebrums compared to primates.

This is absolutely untrue in my experience with having parrots as pets, and plenty of anecdotes and observations of birds in the literature, YouTube videos, etc. These were highly educated, smart people, but there seemed to be tunnel vision within their mental framework.

We are all part of nature. I don't see the fuss.

So a lobster can look lose a whole arm in a fight with another lobster or can get eaten alive in nature. But we are worried about how they die in our kitchen?

At the end of the day you are sucking out their brains and eating them. I’m sure they are more abset about that then the way we kill them.

What about the torture of those lobster tanks and seeing all your friends being hauled away?

glad to hear this

Cough wrote: ↑ Unbelievable the pansies saying that lobsters must be killed humanely. They are cockroaches of the sea. Boil and eat. Yum.

we as humans should be ethical and not look down upon other life as something we can do as we please with. all life should be respected.

abc123yyz wrote: ↑ Here is a link. He even says you want to kill the lobster as quickly and humanely as possible.

Great video, but is there any reason for only poaching for 2 minutes instead of cooking completely? Did he ever show how he finishes the lobster after?

^ That lobster is really cute... I've never cooked crustacean. I can't look at its eyes wondering if boiling might hurt! Mercy-kill please!

Becks wrote: ↑ I don't know if I've ever even eaten lobster in my life! They can't be that different from crabs. Does the law apply to crabs?

They seem to believe in the one-shot kill at the "apron" as they call it:


They do a whole bunch of blue crabs here...

From the original article: “It’s a bit of a futile debate, because in any case we never eat live animals, be they lobsters or others,” said Jean Cote. “We have to kill them one way or another.”

I found that interesting. I can think of a few cases where this isn't true. Oysters are the obvious.

In any case, from what I've read, it's not true that killing a lobster before boiling impacts the taste in any way, so it's a no-brainer to give them a death that's less unpleasant than being boiled alive.