Cooking Crab Nets Animal Cruelty Charge

Yngve Ekern, the food writer for the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, has been accused of animal cruelty by the animal rights group NOAH for writing an article about cooking crab. A criminal charge was dismissed and referred to the Conciliation Board for resolution.

"Showing how to boil living crabs is encouraging law-breaking. Crabs are also covered by the Animal Protection Act, and animals shall not be exposed to pain," NOAH leader Siri Martinsen told Journalisten.no.

"It is highly probable that crabs have the ability to feel pain. We know too little about it and the animals should get the benefit of the doubt," she said.

To resolve the crab-pain issue, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority will establish a committee to examine the question of what crabs can feel during the boiling. Presumably, the committee will contract the services of several eminent crab psychologists.