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Marine Science

NEW DECAPOD WELFARE HUB

New decapod welfare hub for food industry launches this week  

New decapod welfare hub for food industry launches this week 

The Crustacean Industry Welfare Hub (CIWH) is launching this week to help food companies improve welfare standards for decapod crustaceans in their supply chain.

Since decapod crustaceans – such as crabs, lobsters, prawns/shrimp and nephrops – were recognised as sentient in UK law in April 2022, consumer and industry expectations for decapod welfare standards have been increasing.

CIWH is a free, members-only, industry-focused site that will support businesses in all sectors, throughout the sea to plate journey, to review their management and working practices, so they can understand and meet these expectations.

The hub includes information and resources specific to each stage of the crustacean industry, including fishing, processing, retail, live export and transport and the restaurant and food service sectors.

CIWH has been developed by Crustacean Compassion, which works for the humane treatment and legal protection of decapod crustaceans in the food supply chain and beyond.

It is being launched with a live webinar at 10am on Wednesday 5 July 2023, where there will be a short tour of the site and an overview of the diverse range of industry-focused content. Anyone working in a relevant sector who wishes to attend the virtual launch should register at https://buff.ly/3XvjsH9

Dr Ben Sturgeon, Crustacean Compassion Chief Executive said: “The legal recognition of decapod crustaceans’ sentience has prompted an ongoing, industry-wide conversation about the urgent need to reassess current working practices from an animal welfare perspective. From our discussions with companies throughout the supply chain, it became clear there is a need for a comprehensive, evidence-based information hub to help businesses make those assessments. We hope that the CIWH will become a valuable tool for businesses to find out about the latest news on relevant scientific research, welfare guidance and legislation, so that we can continue to work together to improve decapod welfare standards across the industry.”

The hub can be found at  www.ciwh.org with member applications being processed after the launch date.

 

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