This website uses cookies. If you continue to use the site you accept their use. Learn more ×

Crustacean Compassion

In the UK, decapod crustacean, such as crabs, lobsters and prawns have little protection under animal welfare legislation. This means they are subjected to inhumane practices that would be considered unacceptable in other animals, for example, they are sent live in the post to consumers.

Stop the live sale of lobsters

Online retailers, such as Amazon, sell live lobsters to consumers and when ordered, these vulnerable animals are posted or delivered alive. Not only could the journey harm the lobsters, but there could be delays with delivery leading to them being stuck in vans and left on doorsteps for unknown ...

In the UK, decapod crustacean, such as crabs, lobsters and prawns have little protection under animal welfare legislation. This means they are subjected to inhumane practices that would be considered unacceptable in other animals, for example, they are sent live in the post to consumers.

Stop the live sale of lobsters

Online retailers, such as Amazon, sell live lobsters to consumers and when ordered, these vulnerable animals are posted or delivered alive. Not only could the journey harm the lobsters, but there could be delays with delivery leading to them being stuck in vans and left on doorsteps for unknown lengths of time. This practice is unacceptable and risks injury, stress, and slow suffocation for the animals, before their lives are ended in the bottom of a fridge or in a pan of boiling water.

In November 2021 a UK government commissioned report was published and found that there was strong evidence of sentience in decapods, and recommended that they should be protected in law. Specifically in relation to online sales of live animals, the authors stated:

“This practice inherently creates a risk of poor handling and inappropriate storage and slaughter methods. Ending this practice would be an effective intervention to improve the welfare of decapods.”

We have written to major UK retailers that sell live decapods asking them to stop. Now we need you to do the same.

+

Ask Amazon to stop selling live lobsters

TAKE URGENT ACTION

The sale of live lobsters online increases around Valentine's Day. It's urgent that as many letters get sent as possible to stop the live sale of lobsters online. Send yours now!

Compose your email

Name

Email

Subject:

Dear Mr Boumphrey,

I am writing to complain about the sale and delivery of live lobsters on your website.

I have seen that Amazon UK sells live lobsters online to be delivered direct to members of the public. This concerns me greatly. Not only could the journey severely harm the lobsters, but there could be delays with delivery leading to them being stuck in vans and left on doorsteps for unknown lengths of time. This is completely unacceptable, putting these fragile animals at risk of injury, suffocation or death during transport.

I’m sure you’ve seen in the news that the UK Government have added decapod crustaceans (crabs, lobsters & prawns) to the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill following an official report which confirmed these animals are sentient and can feel pain. This official report also recommended ending the practice of online sale and transport of live decapods, as there is no way to ensure good welfare when delivering a live animal to private home. The authors state:

“We recommend a ban on the sale of live decapod crustaceans to untrained, non-expert handlers. For example, live decapod crustaceans can be ordered from online retailers. This practice inherently creates a risk of poor handling and inappropriate storage and slaughter methods. Ending this practice would be an effective intervention to improve the welfare of decapods.” (Review of the Evidence of Sentience in Cephalopod Molluscs and Decapod Crustaceans, page 9, 2021).

I believe that Amazon UK should urgently review their policy on this matter and demonstrate their commitment to animal welfare by stopping the live sale of decapod crustaceans immediately.

It's extremely important for such significant retailers as yourselves to remain up to date with science and animal welfare standards.

I look forward to hearing back.

How we use the data you enter on this form

If you subscribe to our email updates, we'll keep you up to date with campaign news, appeals and ways you can take action to protect decapod crustaceans.

You can unsubscribe at any time by contacting [email protected]

Information about how we protect your details can be found in our privacy policy.

Do Gooder (the advocacy platform powering this online action) processes personal information from you that you enter on this form so that we can provide the functions and related services to you and The Campaigner (the organisation responsible for this online action) for their legitimate purposes, including possibly exporting it to other systems, and to effectively respond to enquiries and communications related to those services.

Specifically when you enter:

Your location data (residential address or postcode) it is used to locate your elected representative, to pre-populate your email signature and to provide The Campaigner with a visualisation of the location of the support for this campaign.
All other data you may enter, including your email address, name, telephone number, commentary and so on is used by The Campaigner to advocate for the campaign’s goals and where required may be sent to the target of the campaign.

The data collected by Do Gooder is also used by us in aggregate form to improve the service and may be held on your behalf outside your country of residence by our third party service providers. These providers are bound by contract to only use personal information on our behalf, in accordance with agreed terms. While the privacy laws of the country in which personal information is stored or transferred may be different from those in your country, we will always have safeguards in place when storing or transferring personal information. We will never sell, rent, loan or in any other way pass your information on to other parties other than to provide this service to you and The Campaigner.

The personal information collected by Do Gooder is held subject to a Data Processing Agreement between Do Gooder and The Campaigner in compliance with the EU's GDPR and Australian law.

Learn more about our privacy policy here

How is my data used?