Chefs may soon have to change their cooking methods. They will have to stop boiling seafood alive. The U.K. is looking at research that accepts that sea life like lobsters and crabs feel pain. The studies could change how we treat and kill these creatures. The research on animal welfare recognizes that they are "sentient beings". This means they feel things like pain, distress and joy. Researchers at the London School of Economics looked at 300 different studies. They concluded that octopuses, squid, cuttlefish, crabs, lobsters and crayfish have feelings.

A professor and researcher on the Foundations of Animal Sentience Project commented on the research. He said some sea creatures experience pain more than others. He said the new law means the fishing, retail and restaurant industries must change the way they treat and kill these sea creatures. This means the end of inhumane practices like boiling lobsters alive. He also said people should be trained so they know how to kill sea creatures humanely. The U.K. government said it has "some of the strongest protections in the world" for animals.