Northern Ireland: Animal charity seeks confirmation live boiling of lobsters breaches law

The letter follows England’s formal acknowledgement in December 2025, through its Animal Welfare Strategy, that the practice is incompatible with the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing Regulations 2015.

Northern Ireland’s equivalent legislation – the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 – contains the same provisions, meaning the same conclusion applies.

Schedule 4 of The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014, which applies to lobsters and crabs, provides:

Lobsters and crabs were officially recognised as sentient and capable of feeling pain in the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022.

The coalition is calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to acknowledge what the law already says and publish official guidance making this clear to the industry, regulators and consumers.

Edie Bowles, executive director at The Animal Law Foundation, said: “The law in Northern Ireland is clear, and it mirrors what England has now formally acknowledged – that live boiling of lobsters and crabs is illegal under the current law. We are asking the Northern Irish government to do the same, ensuring the law is properly understood and upheld. Every day without this is another day the law continues to be misunderstood and undermined, with animals suffering as a result.

“Lobsters and crabs are sentient animals that can feel fear and pain, and right now they’re routinely boiled alive. The law makes it illegal to cause this pain and that needs to be urgently acknowledged.”