So it’s a barbaric thing to do to the animal.”—Cephalopod expert Dr. Jennifer Mather Of all people, Julia Child had instructions for cutting the brain of a lobster to kill it before you boil it. I know this from person experience and from what I've heard from others. Cultural live animal traditions. They can anticipate a painful, difficult, stressful situation—they can remember it. Of eating an octopus alive, Dr. Jennifer Mather, an expert on cephalopods and a psychology professor at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, says, “ [T]he octopus, which you’ve been chopping to pieces, is feeling pain every time you do it. Why is it that we almost universally condemn leaving a dog out in the rain or kicking a cat, but haven't yet decided whether slowly dismembering a sea creature is truly disagreeable? What do you think an octopus is experiencing when it's being cut into pieces and eaten alive? In Seoul, South Korea, there are entire restaurants centered around dining on octopuses whose arms continue to squirm when they're placed on your plate—and as they wriggle down your throat. The octopus has a nervous system which is much more distributed than ours. There's a wonderful video from some guys in Australia—there are several that have done this actually—they need someplace to hide while they rest. This is extremely barbaric to have these … If you look at us, most of our neurons are in our brain, and for the octopus, three-fifths of its neurons are in its arms. But the octopus, which you've been chopping to pieces, is feeling pain every time you do it. “[T]he octopus, which you’ve been chopping to pieces, is feeling pain every time you do it. My thought is that if you had a whole octopus and tried to eat it, it would be a completely repellant situation because the octopus would try to climb out. So how does the squid "come back to life?" You can give an animal a quick and minimally painful death before you eat it—at the least, you can destroy the brain. I have also seen octopuses unscrewing jar lids easily to get a small crab inside. A video has been making the rounds of a woman in China who has a live octopus stuck to her face. . ... researchers have observed an octopus’s color changing and activity patterns and looked for any self-inflicted harm (swimming into the side of a tank or eating … The controversial practice of eating live animals is still popular in many parts of the world. In the written material that PETA has issued to accompany the video, octopus expert Jennifer Mather makes it clear, as well, that octopuses feel … They also have spatial memory. I've talked to other people about this—there is cultural sensitivity, and there is suffering. Octopuses are eaten alive in several countries around the world, including the USA. It's probable that the octopus's reaction to pain is similar to a vertebrate. By signing up to the VICE newsletter you agree to receive electronic communications from VICE that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content. Restaurants in New York give customers the chance to “ pick belly sashimi out of (the lobster’s) still moving body.” In China, drunken shrimp, or qiang xia, is a delicacy that involves clawed river shrimp soaked in baijiu or another spirit. After quite some deliberation, they decided that in terms of research, you should give consideration to cephalopods, including octopus and squid, but they did not include crustaceans. The organisation claims that octopuses, which are considered to be among the most intelligent invertebrates, can feel pain in the way that mammals do. So it's a barbaric thing to do to the animal. Jennifer Mather, PhD: It's not something I've come across in my research. A 2010 article in The Guardian ignited heavy opinions for opening discussion about Copenhagen restaurant noma's dish of still-writhing langoustine; since, the issue has popped up here and there in editorials and YouTube videos. But there was a discussion I had with PETA about someone who was frying octopuses alive in New York, and I was asked to comment on that. It's not just a sense of direction, it's a sense of where you've been. And, people do experience fear so great that it can cause them do die from the fear. There's an interesting situation because the European Union, over the last few years, looked at all of their animal welfare rules. But there was a discussion I had with PETA about someone who was frying octopuses alive in New York, and I was asked to comment on that. [T]he octopus, which you’ve been chopping to pieces, is feeling pain every time you do it. They use tools, and they'll think about what they want to do with something even before they do it. Rather than trying to reckon with apples and oranges (or spaniels and squids), I consulted cephalopod expert Jennifer Mather, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta and author of numerous studies on octopus and cephalopod sentience, including "Cephalopod consciousness: Behavioral evidence" and "Ethics and invertebrates: a cephalopod perspective." But that doesn't mean that crustaceans can't experience the same pain stimuli, anticipation, and memory of painful events that an octopus does. The octopus has a nervous system which is much more distributed than ours. If you've got pieces of arm, because there's so much local control, they might react to the painful stimuli that they get, but they're probably not exactly "feeling pain," because they're disconnected from the brain. The controversial practice of eating live animals is still popular in many parts of the world. A live-streaming host known as Seaside Girl Little Seven regularly posts clips of herself enjoying seafood, but this time, in hopes of gaining more popularity, she tried something else. What I would do is put it in the freezer. They're wonderful animals. This article originally appeared on MUNCHIES in December 2014. It's not just a sense of direction, it's a sense of where you've been. Not only can they remember where home is, but they can go out and hunt, come back, and then go out the next day and hunt in a different place. This article originally appeared on MUNCHIES in December 2014. But the octopus, which you've been chopping to pieces, is feeling pain every time you do it. We asked a cephalopod expert how it feels for an octopus who is on the receiving end. But in today's day and age, we get to see all the glorious FAIL! You don't have to figure out exactly where the brain is, and you don't have to worry about an anaesthetic tainting the flavor of the meat. How can we account for differences in the perception of what constitutes cruelty between cultures? edit: Interesting the thumbs down. In the U.S., Europe and around the world, it is common practice to eat oysters and lobsters alive. And one of the things they looked at in terms of rules was, OK, we have to give consideration to vertebrates, but are there any invertebrates that we should give ethical consideration to? There's no doubt about it. Animal welfare groups have objected to this practice on the basis that octopuses can experience pain. Octopus are being held down, cut up alive, and then served in sushi restaurants. They use tools, and they'll think about what they want to do with something even before they do it. If they stuck a shrimp on a block of ice until it's unreactive, it's probably less aware than it would be if you picked it out of the water and started chewing it from the tail up. She added, “Octopus expert Dr. Jennifer Mather has stated that ‘There is absolutely no doubt that they feel pain,’ and explained that an octopus who is being eaten alive is in just as much pain as a pig, fish, or rabbit would be.” JUNG YEON-JE via Getty Images. But, do octopuses experience would-be painful experiences the same way mice do? Crustaceans, cephalopods, and mollusks don't have any internal temperature regulation, so if you freeze them you can get them to the point where they're really not conscious. I think it was the Hawaiians who used to bite down on the brain to kill it quickly. But in some corners of the world, there is less taboo assigned to eating the still-breathing. One of them dug up a coconut shell and hauled it around with it, and when it got to the point where it wanted to rest, it picked up the shell, tucked itself inside of it, and went to sleep. You can give an animal a quick and minimally painful death before you eat it—at the least, you can destroy the brain. MUNCHIES: Have you come across the practice of eating live octopus over the course of your research on cephalopods? By signing up to the VICE newsletter you agree to receive electronic communications from VICE that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content. I suspect that they're just throwing an octopus on a chopping block and cutting off pieces as they go, and they are absolutely causing that animal suffering. After quite some deliberation, they decided that in terms of research, you should give consideration to cephalopods, including octopus and squid, but they did not include crustaceans. There's an interesting situation because the European Union, over the last few years, looked at all of their animal welfare rules. What do you think an octopus is experiencing when it's being cut into pieces and eaten alive? These are intelligent animals with minds of their own, and I doubt they would enjoy being eaten. The recently deceased squid may lack a brain, but its muscle cells, which receive electrical commands, are still intact , NPR reports. I hoped that she could offer greater insight into pain and sentience in octopus terms. “ [T]he octopus, which you’ve been chopping to pieces, is feeling pain every time you do it. I hoped that she could offer greater insight into pain and sentience in octopus terms. They're fascinating. There is absolutely no doubt that they feel pain. It's just as painful as if it were a hog, a fish, or a rabbit, if you chopped a rabbit's leg off piece by piece. What I would do is put it in the freezer. In your research, particularly with octopus, what was the most surprising evidence of anecdote you found about their intelligence or sense of sentience? Octopuses are sometimes eaten or prepared alive, a practice that is controversial due to scientific evidence that octopuses experience pain. Do Octopuses Feel Pain? Octopuses can feel pain, just like all animals. It’s just as painful as if it were a hog, a fish, or a rabbit, if you chopped a rabbit’s leg off piece by piece. The fact is that many octopi have their tentacles cut off while they're still alive, that is torture, and I am not okay with torture. Jennifer Mather, PhD: It's not something I've come across in my research. What would be the best way to kill an octopus quickly and with minimal pain to the animal? Short of cannibalism, the most controversial issues in meat-eating today are likely the consumption of dog meat—due to our social and sentimental attachments to the canine species—and the practice of eating live animals. Ways, short of medical sedation, that caused waves for Copenhagen 's Noma is problem you... 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