Lobster zapper to spare pain of boiling

Published on Saturday 21 November 2009 20:00

IT IS the sound of a crustacean clinging by its claws to life. The noise a lobster makes as it is boiled alive may put budding chefs off serving the dish at a dinner party, but now a British entrepreneur has invented a device that administers a painless death in less than a second.

The lobster zapper is called CrustaStun, costs an eye-watering 2,500 and is the creation of Simon Buckhaven, who believes the electrical shock which kills the creature also makes the meat taste sweeter.

When placed inside the machine a lobster takes just 0.3 seconds to die, compared with three minutes in boiling water, while a crab can take as long as four and a half minutes to die.

The invention, manufactured by Buckhaven's firm, Studham Technologies, has undergone a series of trials in Britain and America.

Opinion is divided on whether a lobster can experience pain as a human would experience it.

Research published in Norway in 2005 suggested the experience of boiling to death was like being sent gently to sleep in a warm whirlpool bath.

However, Professor Robert Elwood of Queen's University, Belfast, carried out an experiment in which he placed acid on the antennae of prawns and reported a reaction consistent with pain.

Buckhaven agrees with Elwood's research and believes the practice of boiling lobsters alive should end.

He said: "These are sentient animals who feel pain and distress and you should not boil them alive, or drown them in fresh water, or cut them in half while they're alive.

"A lot of people who love to eat lobster do not like preparing it at home because they have to cook it in boiling water. And restaurants are more frequently hearing questions from customers about how their lobster will be killed."