Review of the Evidence of Sentience in Cephalopod Molluscs and Decapod Crustaceans

TL;DR — The LSE report commissioned by the UK government that found octopuses, crabs and lobsters sentient, and led to their inclusion in the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022.

A 108-page review from LSE Consulting, November 2021. It sets out a framework of eight criteria for evaluating evidence of sentience, applies it to cephalopods and decapods, and makes recommendations on commercial practices such as boiling lobsters alive. The UK government accepted the central recommendation.

What it is: a rigorous evidence review that changed the law. A good example of turning a philosophical question into a policy test.

Where this came from

• r/obscurePDFs post, February 2022 — “Review of the Evidence of Sentience in Cephalopod Mollusks and Docapod Crustaceans”. Routing record: The obscurePDFs Subreddit

108 pages. A copy is archived locally against link rot; the header links the original source.