You can no longer boil a lobster alive in Switzerland, unless you stun it first:
The Swiss government has ordered an end to the common culinary practice of throwing lobsters into boiling water while they are still alive, ruling that they must be knocked out before they are killed.
As part of a wider overhaul of Swiss animal protection laws, Bern said that as of 1 March, "the practice of plunging live lobsters into boiling water, which is common in restaurants, is no longer permitted". Lobsters "will now have to be stunned before they are put to death," the government order read.
According to Swiss public broadcaster RTS, only electric shock or the "mechanical destruction" of the lobster's brain will be accepted methods of stunning the animals once the new rule takes affect.
Also at BBC.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Gaaark on Saturday January 13 2018, @02:11PM (3 children)
And what about putting them in room temp water and bringing the water to a boil? Is that humane? Or is it worse because the pain would last longer?
Freeze the lobster for an hour, then plunge them into boiling water?
Cut the head off?
I hope they have laid out some clear-cut (if only) rules for 'destroying the brain':
"Am i doing this right? I'm not sure. The lobster isn't moving now, but is it just stunned? Did i just cause it so much pain that it has gone into shock? I dunno." Splooge. (Splash? Plunge?)
Let's try it on Bobby first to be sure. See what happens, then we'll work on the lobster.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @02:31PM (1 child)
Are you volunteering to be a test subject in this?
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday January 14 2018, @12:36AM
No, i'm volunteering Bobby. Learn to read! (or are you Bobby?.......)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by looorg on Saturday January 13 2018, @03:46PM
That is a point, how hard to you have to hit a lobster over the head for it to become braindead and not just merely stunned? Is it better to boil a braindamaged or in shock lobster then one that isn't? Perhaps they'll start selling certified lobster stunguns cause you just can't really be sure that the mallet did the trick.