"Ouch" Said the Crab

The scientists could have saved a lot of time and money. Anyone who has ever steamed crabs (alive of course) and has heard them clawing at the inside of the pot as the heat steadily rises (kind of gruesome huh) already knew this.

I guess Stone Crabs suffer quite a bit too.

From MSNBC...

Ripping the legs off live crabs and crowding lobsters into seafood market tanks are just two of the many practices that may warrant reassessment, given two new studies that indicate crustaceans feel pain and stress.

The findings add to a growing body of evidence that virtually all animals, including fish, shellfish and insects, can suffer.

It has been thought that the behavior of crustaceans is mostly reflexive, but the fact that they showed signs of physical distress at the same time they changed a behavior — in this case, moving into another shell — suggest they feel pain as well, according to the researchers.