Lobster fishing is not a big industry in Switzerland so this shouldn't cause too much inconvenience.
In Switzerland, it's now illegal to boil a live lobster
171–180 of 314 posts
Re: In Switzerland, it's now illegal to boil a live lobster
#172The bar for infringing on people's freedom should be high. Laws should exit only to protect human interests. That can include things like preserving biodiversity. But to use the power of the state against people for the sole purpose of protecting animal interests is unjustified in my opinion. I believe we have a moral duty to treat animals well, and certainly to avoid causing needless suffering. But not all moral dut…
So what, as long as humans win it's OK? Boy that sounds like a shitty philosophy, but we might quickly get into an argument over the semantics of "win".
Re: In Switzerland, it's now illegal to boil a live lobster
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you disagree with most animal cruelty laws then? What about dog or cock fighting?
One of the strongest arguments for banning cock/dog fighting is that it inculcates moral depravity in its participants. To stand there and take pleasure in causing suffering in living things can only serve make you callous to human suffering as well. It seems justified to ban it, at least as an organized, large-scale enterprise.
By the same token, a gradual increase in the legal and customary respect shown to animals could inculcate a growing respect for our fellow humans.
Re: In Switzerland, it's now illegal to boil a live lobster
#174That means cats must have a daily visual contact with other felines, and hamsters or guinea pigs must be kept in pairs. And anyone who flushes a pet goldfish down the toilet is breaking the law. Say what? So in Switzerland I can go to jail for not making a play date for my cat, or buying a little friend for my hamster? What's next, you can't kill a spider that's creeping around your house? People need to understand t…
It's as easy to catch a spider and throw it out as to kill it. So fo the right thing and have a respect for a little wild animal.
If it's poisonous, killing is considerably easier.
Re: In Switzerland, it's now illegal to boil a live lobster
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
> paralyzed but still "aware" in whatever sense a lobster is aware of anything Radiolab spin-off More Perfect recently discussed the “cosmetic” presence of a paralytic drug in lethal injection concoctions. I can’t help but see a parallel.
That's terrifying. At least for the lobster, we're not really sure how they interpret pain. They don't have a brain in the same way the humans do. As a vegetarian, I personally would go back to meat if I just knew my meal had a good life and did not suffer needlessly in order for me to eat it. But for the prisoner, this seems like the worst combination: internalized suffering and externalized indifference... So minim…
Honest question: We don't treat dairy cows particularly well while they're alive (for example), so if you care about animal suffering why are you a vegetarian and not a vegan? I'm neither, for the record.
Re: In Switzerland, it's now illegal to boil a live lobster
#176That means cats must have a daily visual contact with other felines, and hamsters or guinea pigs must be kept in pairs. And anyone who flushes a pet goldfish down the toilet is breaking the law. Say what? So in Switzerland I can go to jail for not making a play date for my cat, or buying a little friend for my hamster? What's next, you can't kill a spider that's creeping around your house? People need to understand t…
To me the law is probably well intended but likely ineffective. Beside, it's their country and having self-determination, let them do as they will.
That said, who is going to ensure no one breaks the law? I guess it mostly will affect commercial food preparers, but it's not like people at home will turn themselves in or they'll have embedded monitors on live lobsters who will rat out a cook. If they really meant it, just make sale of lobsters for eating illegal altogether.
Re: In Switzerland, it's now illegal to boil a live lobster
#177That means cats must have a daily visual contact with other felines, and hamsters or guinea pigs must be kept in pairs. And anyone who flushes a pet goldfish down the toilet is breaking the law. Say what? So in Switzerland I can go to jail for not making a play date for my cat, or buying a little friend for my hamster? What's next, you can't kill a spider that's creeping around your house? People need to understand t…
It's as easy to catch a spider and throw it out as to kill it. So fo the right thing and have a respect for a little wild animal.
If it's the right thing, then should it be a law?
Re: In Switzerland, it's now illegal to boil a live lobster
#178That means cats must have a daily visual contact with other felines, and hamsters or guinea pigs must be kept in pairs. And anyone who flushes a pet goldfish down the toilet is breaking the law. Say what? So in Switzerland I can go to jail for not making a play date for my cat, or buying a little friend for my hamster? What's next, you can't kill a spider that's creeping around your house? People need to understand t…
It's as easy to catch a spider and throw it out as to kill it. So fo the right thing and have a respect for a little wild animal.
I just leave here:
http://www.burkemuseum.org/blog/myth-house-spiders-belong-ba...
Re: In Switzerland, it's now illegal to boil a live lobster
#179My first reaction was that this was silly, but I tried my best to follow along and have some empathy for the lobster. They had me right until electrocution...
Re: In Switzerland, it's now illegal to boil a live lobster
#180I'm torn on the subject. There's a Korean restaurant in Queens that serves live seafood (octopi chopped in front of you; hot pots with live scallops cooked at your table): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfu9MzeEMxo I don't have a problem with chopping up an octopus at the dinner table, but I probably wouldn't want to see a chicken clubbed to death before it lands in plate. On a different subject, I'm not sure that '…
Octopuses are some of the most intelligent creatures on earth. Eating or cutting them alive is nothing short of savage, and no better than serving live dog or chimpanzee.
I'm all for regulations that end unnecessary animal suffering, especially when the whole purpose of it is to do nothing more than add novelty to a meal. We evolved to eat meat. We didn't evolve to torture our meals.