Humane Slaughter of Edible Decapod Crustaceans

doi:10.3390/ani11041089

Review

. 2021 Apr 11;11(4):1089.

doi: 10.3390/ani11041089.

Humane Slaughter of Edible Decapod Crustaceans

Francesca Conte¹, Eva Voslarova², Vladimir Vecerek², Robert William Elwood³, Paolo Coluccio⁴, Michela Pugliese¹, Annamaria Passantino¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Polo Universitario Annunziata, 981 68 Messina, Italy.
² Department of Animal Protection and Welfare and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic.
³ School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK.
⁴ Department of Neurosciences, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence-Viale Pieraccini, 6-50139 Firenze, Italy.

PMID: 33920380
PMCID: PMC8069407
DOI: 10.3390/ani11041089

Review

Humane Slaughter of Edible Decapod Crustaceans

Francesca Conte et al. Animals (Basel). 2021.

. 2021 Apr 11;11(4):1089.

doi: 10.3390/ani11041089.

Authors

Francesca Conte¹, Eva Voslarova², Vladimir Vecerek², Robert William Elwood³, Paolo Coluccio⁴, Michela Pugliese¹, Annamaria Passantino¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Polo Universitario Annunziata, 981 68 Messina, Italy.
² Department of Animal Protection and Welfare and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic.
³ School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK.
⁴ Department of Neurosciences, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence-Viale Pieraccini, 6-50139 Firenze, Italy.

PMID: 33920380
PMCID: PMC8069407
DOI: 10.3390/ani11041089

Abstract

Vast numbers of crustaceans are produced by aquaculture and caught in fisheries to meet the increasing demand for seafood and freshwater crustaceans. Simultaneously, the public is increasingly concerned about current methods employed in their handling and killing. Recent evidence has shown that decapod crustaceans probably have the capacity to suffer because they show responses consistent with pain and have a relatively complex cognitive capacity. For these reasons, they should receive protection. Despite the large numbers of crustaceans transported and slaughtered, legislation protecting their welfare, by using agreed, standardized methods, is lacking. We review various stunning and killing systems proposed for crustaceans, and assess welfare concerns. We suggest the use of methods least likely to cause suffering and call for the implementation of welfare guidelines covering the slaughter of these economically important animals.

Keywords: Decapoda; legislation; slaughtering techniques; stunning; welfare.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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References

1. Elwood R.W. Evidence for pain in decapod crustaceans. Anim. Welf. 2012;21:23–27. doi: 10.7120/096272812X13353700593365. - DOI
1. Sherwin C.M. Can invertebrates suffer? Or how robust is argument-by-analogy? Anim. Welf. 2001;10:S103–S108.
1. Broom D.M. Considering animals’ feelings. [(accessed on 7 April 2021)];Anim. Sentience. 2016 5:1–11. doi: 10.51291/2377-7478.1015. Available online: https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?artic.... - DOI
1. Elwood R.W. Discrimination between nociceptive reflexes and more complex responses consistent with pain in crustaceans. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 2019;11:374. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0368. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Diggles B.K. Review of some scientific issues related to crustacean welfare. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 2019;76:66–81. doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsy058. - DOI

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[1] Elwood R.W. Evidence for pain in decapod crustaceans. Anim. Welf. 2012;21:23–27. doi: 10.7120/096272812X13353700593365. - DOI

[2] Elwood R.W. Evidence for pain in decapod crustaceans. Anim. Welf. 2012;21:23–27. doi: 10.7120/096272812X13353700593365. - DOI

[3] Sherwin C.M. Can invertebrates suffer? Or how robust is argument-by-analogy? Anim. Welf. 2001;10:S103–S108.

[4] Sherwin C.M. Can invertebrates suffer? Or how robust is argument-by-analogy? Anim. Welf. 2001;10:S103–S108.

[5] Broom D.M. Considering animals’ feelings. [(accessed on 7 April 2021)];Anim. Sentience. 2016 5:1–11. doi: 10.51291/2377-7478.1015. Available online: https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?artic.... - DOI

[6] Broom D.M. Considering animals’ feelings. [(accessed on 7 April 2021)];Anim. Sentience. 2016 5:1–11. doi: 10.51291/2377-7478.1015. Available online: https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?artic.... - DOI

[7] Elwood R.W. Discrimination between nociceptive reflexes and more complex responses consistent with pain in crustaceans. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 2019;11:374. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0368. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Elwood R.W. Discrimination between nociceptive reflexes and more complex responses consistent with pain in crustaceans. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 2019;11:374. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0368. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Diggles B.K. Review of some scientific issues related to crustacean welfare. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 2019;76:66–81. doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsy058. - DOI

[10] Diggles B.K. Review of some scientific issues related to crustacean welfare. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 2019;76:66–81. doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsy058. - DOI

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Humane Slaughter of Edible Decapod Crustaceans

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Humane Slaughter of Edible Decapod Crustaceans

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