Home Office under pressure to protect crabs and lobsters in laboratories

Today campaigners gathered outside the Home Office to demand the Secretary of State, Yvette Cooper take immediate action to give decapod crustaceans (crabs and lobsters) the same protections in scientific research as other animals.

Campaigners, led by animal welfare organisation Crustacean Compassion, urged the Labour government to close the loophole of the current Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, which covers all vertebrate and even some invertebrates (like octopuses) yet denies any kind of protection to decapod crustaceans, despite them being recognised as sentient beings.

On World Day for Laboratory Animals, campaign groups and members of the public across the world stand up for the rights of animals who are subject to painful and sometimes life-ending experiments at the hands of researchers. In London, TV presenter and journalist Wendy Turner-Webster today joined Crustacean Compassion and lent her voice to the plight of decapods, the only sentient animals routinely used in laboratory experiments who are not currently protected by UK law.

Wendy said, “Crabs and lobsters are recognised as sentient beings, so why do they continue to be left out of legislation that provides legal and ethical protections for their treatment? Squid and octopus were added into the legislation, so why not crabs and lobsters? The scientific views on their sentience are the same so it makes no sense whatsoever to exclude them. The Government could choose to change this very easily so that’s exactly what we’re asking them to do today. It’s the logical and compassionate thing to do.”

A YouGov poll conducted earlier this year found that 61% of the public support including crabs and lobsters under ASPA to protect them in research.

Chief Executive of Crustacean Compassion, Dr Ben Sturgeon agrees and has led the campaign to include decapod crustaceans in the legislation,

“There is clear precedent to give decapod crustaceans the same protection as other animals. The same scientific consensus exists for decapods, making their exclusion illogical and unjustifiable.”

“We don’t understand why the Government is stalling on this one. They’ve said they are going to wait to see whether decapods will be included in the Animal Welfare Act before making a decision on ASPA, but there is no legal requirement, or precedent, for them to do so."

30,000 animals, zero protection

“They are stalling and delaying the decision for no reason, and we urge them to rethink this approach. Whilst they delay, thousands of decapods suffer needlessly in laboratories, with no legal protection, ethical oversight, or record-keeping. Our Freedom of Information data reveals that almost 30,000 decapods were used in experiments from 2018–2024.”

“We have strong public support for this and I’d like to thank all of those who have turned up today or shared our campaign online, giving a voice to those who do not have their own voice.”

The message to the Home Office is clear: stop stalling, follow the science, and amend ASPA now to protect crabs and lobsters from unregulated suffering in UK labs.