There's an age-old debate about whether or not lobsters feel pain. After all, they are being dropped into a pot of boiling water while still alive. It stands to reason that I don't really need to experts or researchers to tell me that the animal will suffer. However, some people appear to need that reassurance that the animal does or does not feel pain or suffer when this happens.

I was searching around and came across the National Fisheries Institute's take on the issue (here). They, of course, say that the lobsters do not feel pain. Makes me wonder why they are trying to get out of that pot of water. Why are they not kicking back hot-tub style and enjoying the moment? 

Perhaps the National Fisheries Institute didn't hear about this news, where researchers said that they do indeed feel pain. Of course they would not share that info on their site, because it would hurt (no pun intended) lobster sales. They also say on their site that fish do not feel pain. Again, they are more concerned with sparing themselves the pain of falling fish sales if they let people know that yes, they do feel pain!

Here's the info that lets people know that fish do feel pain, as well as here.

Do we need researchers to tell us that an animal does or doesn't feel pain? Can't we tell with our own eyes and senses that they suffer? All animals have one thing in common. They all want life. The fish wants life, as does the lobster. A fish will flop and fight for what it needs to survive. A lobster will claw the sides of a pot of boiling water to try and help itself. Watch this vide here. It made me want to cry because I felt so bad for the lobster. My own common sense tells me that the lobster felt pain hitting that water and it was trying to save its life. Would people be okay with throwing a puppy into that boiling water? So why are they okay harming a lobster in such a way?

Yes, fish feel pain. Yes, lobsters feel pain. Yes, the both want life. As humans we have the ability to make choices about what we eat and thankfully there are SO many great plant based options available that don't cause such animal cruelty.