Crustacean Compassion

We are Crustacean Compassion – the leading UK animal welfare organisation campaigning for better legal protection and humane treatment of crabs, lobsters and other decapod crustaceans.

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that these fragile animals are capable of experiencing pain, they are still subjected to cruel practices such as being boiled alive, torn apart alive or even sent live in the post.

Our mission is to promote and lead the ethical and humane treatment of decapod crustaceans through public education, political advocacy, and industry engagement

to build a world where people treat them and their environment

with compassion, kindness, and respect.

NEW REPORT:
The Snapshot 2024

In 2022, Crustacean Compassion launched the UK’s first industry benchmark assessing how 30 major seafood brands manage and report on the welfare of crabs, lobsters, prawns.

Now in its third year, the new edition, The Snapshot 2024 provides a comprehensive review of how the seafood industry treats these fragile animals - from sea to plate. It also evaluates how well companies communicate their policies, helping consumers make informed choices.

How do UK seafood companies rank on crustacean welfare?

The results are in...

✅ Progress is happening: Over 2/3 of companies improved their scores since 2023.
✅ Retailers taking action: The number of businesses banning live sales has more than doubled.
✅ Industry leaders emerging: Marks & Spencer and Young’s Seafood lead the way.

But there’s still a long way to go...

❌ Supermarkets ALDI & ASDA have not yet committed to ban live sales.
❌ 11 companies remain in the bottom tier - taking little to no action on decapod welfare.
❌ Poor practices persist in the supply chain, including live boiling, claw nicking, and inadequate capture, transport and storage methods.

Video design: drewdog.co

Ban boiling alive in 2025

Every day, millions of crabs, lobsters and prawns endure unimaginable suffering, including one of the excruciating forms of death: being boiled alive. These intelligent and sentient creatures are tossed into scalding water, struggling as they experience intense pain for up to 3 minutes before they die.