FOXSYLVANIA

– – I realize that it’s hard to form an emotional attachment with a crustacean.   I also know that Klingons eat some of their food raw and wiggling.  I am glad, however, that a restaurant in Sacramento, California will no longer serve a cruel dish that’s often called “dancing shrimp” or “dancing prawns.”  The dish’s name is a reference, you see, to the writhing that the animals engage in when their protective shells are ripped off and acidic lemon juice is squeezed onto their raw flesh before they are eaten alive...

Scientific research has demonstrated that prawns feel pain, just as other animals do.  A 2007 Queen’s University Belfast study found that when prawns have acid dabbed onto one of their antennae, they respond by grooming the affected area and rubbing it against the side of the tank, just as a dog might lick an injured paw.  When given painkillers, the prawns felt no need to groom or rub their acid-dabbed antennae.  The researchers concluded that these results are consistent with the idea that these crustaceans can experience pain.

When PETA presented their findings and numerous complaints about the practice of serving “dancing shrimp” as cruel, the restaurant agreed to stop serving live shrimp…

This entry was posted on September 6, 2010 at 12:44 am and is filed under animal rights, animals, Invertebrates, science. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: dancing shrimp, serving "dancing shrimp" to stop at Sacramento restaurant