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Boiling lobsters alive will be banned in the UK as ministers promise to raise welfare standards for all types of animals.
An animal welfare strategy published on Monday promised a series of legal changes that ministers said would be “the most ambitious” in a generation.
Bans are promised on trail hunting with dogs, which is described as a “smokescreen” for illegal fox-hunting, snare traps, and shooting hares in the breeding season.
Registration requirements for dog breeders and closer control of pet travel rules will be introduced under plans to ban “puppy farms” and “puppy smuggling”.
Higher welfare standards on farmed animals are also being promised, with ministers saying they want to end the use of cages and crates for animals such as chickens and pigs.
The Conservatives’ Animal Welfare Act recognised in 2022 that crustaceans such as crab, lobsters, shrimp and prawns, along with cephalopods such as squid and octopus, were sentient beings capable of experiencing pain. However, at the time the government stopped short of a ban on boiling them alive, a method still used in some restaurants. Others kill lobsters by freezing them.
The new animal welfare strategy promises that ministers will set out what is “compatible with the existing welfare at time of killing legal requirements, including by clarifying that live boiling is not an acceptable killing method”.
Ben Sturgeon, chief executive of campaign group Crustacean Compassion, welcomed the move. “Banning inhumane practices like live boiling, is a vital step forward for animal welfare. When live, conscious decapod crustaceans are placed into a pot of boiling water, they endure several minutes of excruciating pain before they die. This is torture for crabs and lobsters and is completely avoidable. Throughout the supply chain humane alternatives, such as electrical stunning prior to slaughter, are readily available.”
On farm animals, the proposals include phasing out enriched cages for hens — bigger containers which replaced battery farms — and farrowing crates used for birthing sows. Officials say that the majority of farmers have already stopped using such methods and that ministers want to encourage the remainder to follow.
“Our strategy is catching up with what supermarkets have already been doing to improve the standard of food sold on our shelves,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
However, the National Farmers’ Union has raised concerns about unintended consequences of such bans, fearing British farmers could be undercut by imports from countries with lower welfare standards.
“If the government proposes raising domestic animal welfare standards further it must also take steps to ensure consumers are protected from imported food that could be produced to lower standards, and that British farmers are not asked to compete with imports produced at those lower standards,” said NFU president Tom Bradshaw.
“We have long called for a set of core standards for food imported into the UK; it must meet the same production standards as asked of our farmers.”
The strategy says that ministers will not strike trade deals that undercut UK welfare standards and will act where overseas products have “an unfair advantage”, including through import bans or quotas. “Where necessary, we will be prepared to use the full range of powers at our disposal,” the strategy says.
Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, said the strategy “means tighter regulation where standards are weakest, effective enforcement, and working with the sector to provide animal keepers and owners additional support where they need it”.
Additional reporting by George Parker