Forum: Cruel to serve live octopus at eateries

The live-crab claw machine at House of Seafood as seen in Oct, 2019. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

The Straits Times did an excellent job in highlighting the live-crab claw machine at a seafood restaurant that was called out by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA criticises restaurant for live-crab claw machine, Oct 24).

This practice was immediately stopped by the restaurant.

I would like to draw attention to the practice of serving live octopuses at certain Korean restaurants.

Octopuses are sentient beings and are not unlike dogs or cats. Ripping or cutting off their arms live or tossing them into a hotpot to see them wriggle frantically is extremely cruel.

They suffer great pain and distress in the process. There is no place for such cruel entertainment. Hopefully, those ignorant of this can be educated.

If the practice persists, perhaps the authorities could get involved.

John Koh

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 20, 2019, with the headline Forum: Cruel to serve live octopus at eateries. Subscribe