Minister Schouten wants it to be standard practice in Dutch restaurants that lobsters and crabs are first killed before they are cooked. She promised this during the parliamentary debate on the agricultural budget.
The Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality made the promise in response to a question from the Party for the Animals MP Wassenberg, who argues for a ban. Schouten points out that this is being looked at in a European context and that she thinks that is a good thing. She also wants to see what can already be done in the Netherlands to ensure that the animals are not cooked alive.
Until there is a ban, she believes that chefs and restaurants should take steps themselves. She points out that many restaurants no longer cook crabs and lobsters alive and also sees that attention is paid to alternative cooking methods in chef training.
British study: the animals feel pain
“I want to see how I can also make that more suitable, in such a way that we don’t cook more animals alive if there are also ways to kill them faster with less pain,” says Schouten.
The debate referred to a recent study commissioned by the British government. It shows that there is “strong scientific evidence” that crabs, lobsters and octopuses can suffer and experience pain, prompting Britain to include them in animal protection legislation. Animal welfare organizations advocate for it to do the same in the Netherlands.
This is not the first time that the issue has been raised in the House of Representatives. In 2018, the year that Switzerland The Party for the Animals also submitted a motion to introduce a ban in the Netherlands. At the time, there was no majority for this in the House.
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