[thedoc (OP)]

Charles Howard  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Is there any consensus on the most humane way to kill crabs and lobsters before cooking, rather than putthem straight into a pot of boiling water?

There seem to be many theories on the Web, such as put them in the freezer first, or stab them between the eyes, but I'm not convinced that the theories are actually based on real grounds.

Any research based advice out there?

Regards.

Charles

What do you think?

[alextodd]

Well, I have always ate already cooked crabs and lobsters so I don't have much idea about that, but putting them directly into bowling water or freezing them to death is inhumane. Putting them in hot water is horrible, as you are cooking and killing the crab at the same time. Stabbing them or cutting them is more humane as compared to freezing or putting them in boiling water, as that's the way we do with poultry and cows.

[CliffordK]

I think too much emphasis is put on whether trapping and premature death (in any fashion) is in fact humane.  Chilling (without freezing) of the crabs does make them lethargic).  Following it with freezing might be less painful in a sense, but it would be a slower death unless done with something such as liquid nitrogen (which would be quite expensive).

Boiling undoubtedly leads to short term pain, but it is over in a matter of seconds.  Some kind of impaling (difficult with the thick shell) may still involve some pain.

[Eleraig]

Dr John Baker showed that lobsters can live for up to 7 minutes in boiling water.
Bristol University has developed electric stunning aparatus and Glasgow University has estabished that stress is not detected during stunning and immediate boiling. Boiling live lobsters without stunning is illegal in Italy, Germany and New Zealand. The EU may follow.

 A home method is to boil water to expel oxygen, float a film of cooking oil on top and allow to cool. Holding  the crab or loster, or its head in the case of a large lobster, under the water kills it in a few minutes. On immersion the aminal will freeze for a couple of miutes and then struggle briefly to escape.

[syhprum]

What about oysters that are normally eaten alive should we device some way to kill them first ?