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, Informative) by janrinok on Saturday January 13 2018, @06:23PM
I live in France. Although nowhere near as popular as they once were, snails are still bred for human consumption. Being on the coast, mussels are a common shellfish caught here, and they are frequently eaten. Likewise crabs, including very small crabs. Will the Swiss apply the same law to these and similar animals?
I'd like to see someone 'mechanically destroy the brain' or stun any of these before cooking. I think this is simply a case of pandering to some animal rights group or other, rather than a well thought out law.