Crabs Really Do Feel Pain: Study

[freetoroam]

I am concerned with the crabs and fish, but its not quite the same as livestock being slaughtered because of religious reasons. I understand what you are saying and know the scientists do a lot of good....I just feel that not enough has not been done when i walk into my local supermarket and see halal meat being sold. The animal rights activists managed to put an end to fur in our shops, so why not kosher and halal?

If the scientists say the crabs do feel pain, it will not make any difference to anyone who are abusing them, as you say, laws have to be passed, but surely in our countries these laws are already in place? obviously they are being ignored so experiments on crabs and fish will not change anything. If people ignore them when killing livestock, i very much doubt they will take any notice when it comes to crabs and fish.

I am all for scientists looking at marine life, but to do experiments on them to see if they feel pain? not for that!

[Farmerboy]

Changing the slaughter methods of animals for religious reasons is not up to the scientists, that rests on the government the shops and the people who buy it. All they can do is say why things should change or suggest what can be done as they already are.

Most legislation I think is concerned with vertebrates, I know in regards to lab animals the only protected invertebrate is the octopus. Without research into how animals percieve the world, I doubt anything would improve in regards to their welfare. Progress may be slow but it is happening.

The research helps to understand the motivations that drive animals, how they remember and process past experiences and how they compare with other species. Before the study there was little indication that invertebrates feel pain, now we have evidence that suggests otherwise. It also takes time for such work to reach the masses to have an effect, the study discussed is a few years old now and it is getting more publicity and now people are more aware. The average joe isnt ignoring these things, they might not know or heard about it or havent been informed enough to make a decision.

[Mantis914]

See, now I think that is wrong to just rip off a chiliped or two and toss them back to regrow them just so they can do it again. My statement about what would it change really wasn't made out of indifference or sarcasm but that the claws especially are delicacies (and quite expensive ones too) but to leave the crab defenseless is quite a shame even in its natural environment.

Just because something can regenerate doesn't mean it should be done for profit or even for food. I wouldn't want something ripping my liver out then letting me go to regrow back what it can...

If scientists didnt reseach these thing their would be no proof and people would go on saying "its OK they dont feel pain".

It could help stop declawing the crabs, where the pull off the claw and chuck the crab back in the sea alive to regrow the claw for the next round.

For anyone interested here are some of his papers

http://forms.mbl.edu/research/services/iacuc/pdf/pain_hermit_crabs.pdf

http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0168159109000409/1-s2.0-S0168159109000409-main.pdf?_tid=c538ef66-6184-11e2-bb9d-00000aab0f6b&acdnat=1358523544_4f7068e4e84fcbd4fb97679cf6b82514

http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=elwood+crabs+pain&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5