Agriculture minister Carola Schouten will put a stop to the practice of boiling crabs and lobsters alive, she promised MPs during Thursday’s debate on her ministry’s budget.

Schouten was reacted to a motion put forward by by pro-animal rights MP Frank Wassenberg in which he asked for a ban on what he said was a ‘barbaric’ practice.

Wassenberg cited British research going back to 2005, and confirmed in 2012 by Irish scientists, which shows that decapod crustaceans, such as crabs and lobsters, do experience pain.

Schouten said many restaurants already sedate the animals before they are cooked and that cookery schools are also teaching alternatives. A European ban may also be forthcoming, she said, but until then she would ‘advocate killing the animals more quickly and in a less painful way’.

In 2018, when Switzerland forbade the live boiling of crabs and lobsters, the PvdD also tabled a motion for a ban, but it failed to get a majority.