Do lobsters, crabs   and other crustaceans   feel pain? We certainly act as if they don't.Most chefs cook lobsters and crabs alive, usually by dumping them in boiling water.Along with melted butter.That's the appeal of crustaceans-there's no fresher food.We may feel a bit of guilt, or maybe just discomfort, when we hear the creatures rattling   around the inside of the pot as the water boils.But that feeling usually  _ for lobster lovers by the time we crack open a claw and dig out the delicious meat.We wouldn't dream of doing the same thing to a live chicken or pig which are dead well before die cooking process begins, but those crustaceans are different.They don't even feel pain.Right? Actually, they just might.That's the conclusion of a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.Robert Elwood and Barry Magee of Queen's University in Belfast examined the reaction of common shore crabs to small electrical shocks. Ninety crabs were placed in a brightly lit area and were given the choice of moving to one of two dark shelters.(Shore crabs like to hide in dark, tight spaces.) Once they'd made their choice, the crabs in one of the shelters were exposed to an electric shock.After a rest period, the crabs were returned to the lit tank.Most of the crabs went back into the dark shelters, and then the same crabs were given another electric shock.When they were placed back into the lit tank for the third time, the majority of the shocked crabs instead went to the other dark shelter, avoiding the one where they had repeatedly been shocked. As Elwood put it, the crabs' choice indicated they wanted to escape the shocks: Having experienced two rounds of shocks, the crabs learned to avoid the shelter where they received the shock. They were willing to give up their hideaway in order to avoid the source of their probable pain. What does Robert Elwood and Barry Magee's new study prove?
It is hard to tell whether a voiceless shore crab is feeling pain or not. Shore crabs react to electric shocks and seemingly feel pain. Shore crabs prefer a dark, tight shelter as their-habitat. Bright light causes discomfort to crustaceans.