What is the most humane way to kill a crab? Is tossing it in boiling water a quick death? Or should I decpaitate it (where ever its head ends)? And where/how are they protected in Australia?? Queen's University says new research it conducted shows crabs not only suffer pain but retain a memory of it. The study, which looked at the reactions of hermit crabs to small electric shocks, was carried out by Professor Bob Elwood and Mirjam Appel. The crabs reacted adversely to the shocks but also seemed to try to avoid future shocks, suggesting that they recalled the past ones..... ...As part of the research, wires were attached to shells to deliver small shocks to the abdomen of some of the crabs. The study revealed the only crabs to get out of their shells were those which had received shocks, indicating that the experience was unpleasant for them. Legislation to protect crustaceans has been proposed but it is likely to cover only scientific research... ..."Legislation to protect crustaceans has been proposed but it is likely to cover only scientific research," he said. "Millions of crustaceans are caught or reared in aquaculture for the food industry. "There is no protection for these animals - with the possible exception of certain states in Australia - as the presumption is that they cannot experience pain. "With vertebrates we are asked to err on the side of caution and I believe this is the approach to take with these crustaceans."
the best way is to freeze them to death, but then you end up with a frozen crab. they do feel pain because, like fish, they have nerve endings.
Oh, where I live, nuking something means putting it in the microwave. I suppose I could shove a whole bunch of them in there real fast but it seems more painful that freezing or boiling. If I left them in a box and just put the whole box in a chest freezer... Does anyone know if freezing crab changes the texture of the meat?
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The way we do it in the Maryland/Chesapeake Bay area is to cut their face off with scissors. Actually, it's more traditional to simply boil them alive, but on a trip with some ecology students, that's what we did.
It's in the front where their eyes are. No actually, I think I'm mistaken. That only works for soft-shell crabs (when they molt). Now that I remember, the method is this: You grab the back of the top half of the shell and lift it up until it breaks off. This takes most of the "face", the brain and the mouthparts apart. This is the considered the most humane way to kill them before cooking. Sorry for the confusion, I've been living on the West Coast too long.
