Lobsters have feelings, too... or, at least, that's what they're saying in Switzerland.
The Swiss government is banning the common culinary practice of tossing live lobsters into boiling water.
"Live crustaceans, including the lobster, may no longer be transported on ice or in ice water. Aquatic species must always be kept in their natural environment. Crustaceans must now be stunned before killing them," say the rules adopted by the government on Wednesday that will take effect in March.
A new Swiss government order says lobsters in restaurants will now have to be stunned before they're cooked.
Animal rights activists argue that lobsters have sophisticated nervous systems and probably feel significant pain and suffering for many seconds when they are boiled alive.
More humane methods of killing and cooking include freezing lobsters to stun them and driving the tip of a knife swiftly through their heads before adding them to hot water, the law says.