Welcome to my Blog here at Life in Italy!
I plan on covering alot of ground on this blog - from Italian history, traditions, food and wine, travel stories, Italian-American heritage, to whatever happens to be on my mind.
I plan on covering alot of ground on this blog - from Italian history, traditions, food and wine, travel stories, Italian-American heritage, to whatever happens to be on my mind.
Lobsters Have Rights?
Posted 01-07-2009 at 02:03 PM by justindemetri
Tags animal rights, food, italy, lobster
Growing up around lobsters my whole life, I just had to laugh at this "news" article. I haven't been in Italy since 2001, but I recall many seafood restaurants in Venice displaying lobsters on ice. Apparently that is a no-no these days as animal activists see this as painful for the lobster....
Like the article says, hard shells can last quite a while out of water. We'd keep them in the refridgerator drawer for a day or a little longer and they would be fine. However it is true that lobsters will die if in direct contact with ice for long. I made that mistake one time and my boss let me have it.
But as far as pain? Any creature with an exoskeleton that can drop limbs without flinching, probably does not have a highly developed pain reflex.
Quote:
RESTAURANTEUR ON TRIAL FOR MISTREATING LOBSTERS
(ANSA) - Milan, January 6 - A well-known Milanese
restauranteur and his wife have been been sent to trial for
the mistreatment of lobsters and will find themselves before
a judge in early March.
The alleged crime took place in November of 2007 when
health inspectors found that live lobsters were on display
for potential customers on packs of crushed ice and not
inside a water tank.
According to the prosecutor in the case, Giulio
Benedetti, not only did this constitute a violation of food
preservation laws, but the couple were also guilty of
mistreating the lobsters and causing them ``insupportable
physical pain`` by keeping them alive out of their natural
habitat, water.
The prosecution also suspects that this treatment may
have been a contributing factor in the lobsters` death.
The case is similar an April 2006 one in Vicenza when a
restaurant operator was fined 688 euros for mistreating
lobsters by keeping them on ice.
The fine was the result of a complaint filed in March
2002 by a former activist from Italy`s animal protection
agency ENPA.
According to the restauranteur, at the time of his
alleged `crime` there were no specific guidelines on
maintaining live lobsters, regulations which entered the law
books only in 2004.
The general opinion of lobstermen is that a hard shell
lobster can survive out of the water for 24 hours or more,
while soft shell lobsters, those which are regrowing their
shells after shedding in the summer, are best kept in water.
They also maintain that lobsters, sometimes referred to
as the `cockroaches of the sea`, do not suffer in the
traditional sense, even when they are thrown into boiling
water for cooking.
Most lobsters in Italy are hard shells and arrive from
northern Europe and North America packed in ice.
The local press in Vicenza noted at the time that the
case had given the restaurant operator some excellent and
free publicity.
(ANSA) - Milan, January 6 - A well-known Milanese
restauranteur and his wife have been been sent to trial for
the mistreatment of lobsters and will find themselves before
a judge in early March.
The alleged crime took place in November of 2007 when
health inspectors found that live lobsters were on display
for potential customers on packs of crushed ice and not
inside a water tank.
According to the prosecutor in the case, Giulio
Benedetti, not only did this constitute a violation of food
preservation laws, but the couple were also guilty of
mistreating the lobsters and causing them ``insupportable
physical pain`` by keeping them alive out of their natural
habitat, water.
The prosecution also suspects that this treatment may
have been a contributing factor in the lobsters` death.
The case is similar an April 2006 one in Vicenza when a
restaurant operator was fined 688 euros for mistreating
lobsters by keeping them on ice.
The fine was the result of a complaint filed in March
2002 by a former activist from Italy`s animal protection
agency ENPA.
According to the restauranteur, at the time of his
alleged `crime` there were no specific guidelines on
maintaining live lobsters, regulations which entered the law
books only in 2004.
The general opinion of lobstermen is that a hard shell
lobster can survive out of the water for 24 hours or more,
while soft shell lobsters, those which are regrowing their
shells after shedding in the summer, are best kept in water.
They also maintain that lobsters, sometimes referred to
as the `cockroaches of the sea`, do not suffer in the
traditional sense, even when they are thrown into boiling
water for cooking.
Most lobsters in Italy are hard shells and arrive from
northern Europe and North America packed in ice.
The local press in Vicenza noted at the time that the
case had given the restaurant operator some excellent and
free publicity.
But as far as pain? Any creature with an exoskeleton that can drop limbs without flinching, probably does not have a highly developed pain reflex.
Total Comments 3
Comments
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The animal rights activists have gone too far. Maybe we should also put blind folds on the lobsters so they won't know who is going to eat them.The judges should put the animal rights people on trial for stupidity!Posted 01-07-2009 at 02:29 PM by Danno
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LOL! I agree with Danno. They are ridiculous.
I think ice is ethical. Numb them up before you drop them in a boiling pot of water. Its better than a tank, waterboarding is unethical.Posted 01-07-2009 at 04:28 PM by JoeItalia7 -
hysterical. can't believe i didn't catch it! Bacione.Posted 01-19-2009 at 08:54 PM by burntbythetuscansun
