Belgium is the largest consumer per capita of lobsters in the world. 4 million lobsters are imported annually to Belgium, and their fate is incredibly disturbing.
I recently visited Carrefour
Market Etterbeek and was horrified to see that live lobsters imported from
Canada were crammed into a barren tank with their claws bound. I wrote to the
manager of this store, and received no reply. I have since been made aware of
further atrocities, notably in Delhaize, which in January of last year faced backlash for boxing live lobsters in Styrofoam
boxes like they were meat. In response to the widespread criticism, Delhaize stated that it had no intention of stopping
the sale of live lobsters.
Carrefour Market appears to even allow you to order a lobster online and have it delivered to your house.
I therefore have decided to take further action and broaden my call to all supermarkets operating in Belgium to stop selling live lobsters.The European Food Safety
Authority considers lobsters to be sentient beings.
Animal sentience is also recognised in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.
Article 13 declares that “[...] the Union and the
Member States shall, since animals are sentient beings, pay full regard to the
welfare requirements of animals [...].” Animal sentience is equally recognised in the Belgian Constitution:
“[...] the Federal State, the Communities and the Regions ensure the protection
and well-being of animals as sentient beings.”
Lobsters can suffer, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at how
little attention supermarkets pay to their wellbeing. Studies carried out by Queen’s University and LSE have found significant evidence that
lobsters feel pain. Dr. Nedim C. Buyukmihci, professor of veterinary surgery, writes, “There is no question that lobsters
have the ability to feel pain and suffer […] [I]t would be inappropriate to do
something to lobsters that you would not consider doing to conscious dogs,
cats, or humans.”
I therefore find the way that
Belgian supermarkets apparently import and sell lobsters to be completely
inhumane. As explained by the Eurogroup for Animals, “The
lobsters are transported from Canada to Belgium in polystyrene foam boxes with
gel ice packs. They are held vertically with their claws held upright. On
arrival, the lobsters are at best kept alive in water tanks, sometimes for
months. At worst, they are simply placed on ice. Exposed to air, they are
unable to excrete bodily waste products, and their condition weakens
significantly, leading to a slow death. The animals are commonly then boiled
alive or cut in half without being stunned.”
It’s cruel to confine animals
to a tiny tank. Confined lobsters may suffer from stress, low oxygen levels, and
crowding. According to Belgian-Dutch activist group Animal Rights, lobsters are usually not fed
at all after being caught and are typically exposed to intense light in
supermarket stores (despite avoiding bright light in their natural habitat).
This causes immense suffering. The group states that lobsters are intended to be sold within two weeks.
Moreover, by selling these
animals alive, supermarkets allow the consumer to do whatever they want with
them when they get back home, be it chopping them up or boiling them alive. 10% of Brussels inhabitants who eat lobster
kill the lobster themselves. 85% of those people boil the lobster alive,
while 15% cut the live lobster in half. It can
take up to three minutes for a lobster to lose
consciousness when being boiled alive. Either way, the lobster is subject to
intense and unnecessary pain.
It is therefore evident that importing and selling live lobsters in this
way is unethical and unacceptable. There is currently no EU legislation which requires
businesses to stun lobsters prior to killing them. That therefore leaves this
decision in the hands of the Member State, and failing that, the
decision-making of individual businesses.
In 2023, 80% of Belgian Eurobarometer respondents
expressed support for limiting the transport time of live animals. 92% agreed that it is important to provide
animals enough space to be able to move around.
Belgian consumers appear to be
open to a better way of purchasing lobsters. Supermarkets should therefore
consider a more humane alternative, and I intend to make sure that they do.
Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not represent the views or opinions of my employer.