Lobster will live because of his unusual color

[Tom L.]

Meet 'Lucky Blue': 1-in-2-million bright blue lobster caught by father and son in Maine

A highly unusual blue lobster was caught by lobster fishermen. He'll be turned loose after spending some time on display in an aquarium. I'm hoping at least some people will take another step and see some inherent worth in other animals who are (relatively) commonplace/everyday/normal/boring/...

He IS a stunner- quite a beauty! I can't help wondering if he would be safer in an aquarium (provided his keeper knew how to keep a lobster alive and in good health for years, and not just long enough to be eaten). I'd think he'd be easier for a predator to spot than a normally-colored lobster; that might be why this one's unusual color is so rare.

(This thread formerly titled: "At least, some good news...")

 

[ewomack]

I ate lobster a few times years ago and I still feel guilty about it. I can't stand the thought of what they go through or how they sit in that tank, claws manacled, awaiting to get plucked out and boiled to death. Augh! Awful! That and escargot are 2 foods I refuse to eat going forward.

I'm glad the lobster was set free. Can we turn all lobsters "lucky blue?"

 

[Veganite]

Here's another rare one, but orange. I grew up in Nova Scotia. We grew up eating lobster in my family. It has to be one of the cruelest things people do to an animal. The thought of a live animal being placed in boiling water is horrendous.

A super-rare orange lobster named Cheddar was saved from becoming seafood

A bright orange lobster was rescued from its fate as a meal at Red Lobster after staff members recognized the crustacean's unusual coloring.

www.cnn.com

 

[Tom L.]

@Veganite @ewomack Supposedly, crustaceans such as lobsters (and also all other arthropods, such as insects and arachnids) have nervous systems too simple to register pain as a mammal or bird would feel it. Specifically, they don't have a cerebral cortex (or maybe it's called a "neocortex"). But here's the thing: although I never had a collection of mounted insects, they've always interested me, and I've spent lots of time observing them. (It's easy- they're all around!) I just can't fathom how they could act the way they do and not be sentient and aware to some degree.

 

[Lou]

@Veganite @ewomack Supposedly, crustaceans such as lobsters (and also all other arthropods, such as insects and arachnids) have nervous systems too simple to register pain as a mammal or bird would feel it. Specifically, they don't have a cerebral cortex (or maybe it's called a "neocortex"). But here's the thing: although I never had a collection of mounted insects, they've always interested me, and I've spent lots of time observing them. (It's easy- they're all around!) I just can't fathom how they could act the way they do and not be sentient and aware to some degree.

Here on the West Coast there has been movement in the vegan community to "allow" the eating of oysters.
And on the East Coast a similar discussion about lobsters.

A lot of the discussion is based on what you just described: the lack of a central nervous system.

The thing about "registering pain" means that they don't suffer which sort of answers Jeremy Bethany's famous question: Do they suffer?

However, although its doubtful they experience the world like we do. They do have sense organs and they do respond to stimuli and their environment.

Also some studies do seem to suggest that lobsters do feel pain or something like it. In fact, in England they have amended their animal welfare laws to include some shell fish including lobsters.

Study finds lobsters feel pain, U.K. lawmakers expand animal welfare bill to include them

The bill will grant greater protection to decapod crustaceans like shrimp and lobster and cephalopod molluscs which includes squid and octopus.

www.newsweek.com

So until we know that they don't feel pain.... let's leave them alone.

 

[ewomack]

I've heard about "bivalves" (oysters, mussels, clams, scallops) not having a central nervous system and a brain, so they probably don't feel pain. That still doesn't mean that I want to eat them (it's up to other people whether they want to or not). As to crustaceans, I'm not so sure. I know, in human terms, that they have "simpler" nervous systems, but I'm not yet convinced that they don't suffer. As suggested in the last post, I would rather steer clear until more evidence emerges. I also have this feeling that more studies such as the one quoted above will appear. Crustaceans seem to be pretty sophisticated organisms overall, some studies have shown evidence of complex learning in lobsters, crabs and even shrimp. This page on pain in crustaceans seems to contain a decent summary on the controversies, but I know Wikipedia can vary in quality.

 

[Tom L.]

I forgot to mention... I hope they TAKE THE BANDS OFF HIS CLAWS before they set him free again.