Ben Sturgeon

Dr Ben Sturgeon
Born	1970
Alma mater	Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh
Chief Executive Officer In office July 2022 - Present Employer Crustacean Compassion  Director of Services In office May 2017 - March 2022 Employer Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad  Head Equine Veterinary Surgeon In office June 2012 - May 2017 Employer Greenside Veterinary Surgeons  Director and Head Equine Veterinary Surgeon In office September 2000 - June 2012 Employer Castle Veterinary Surgeons  University Lecturer In office September 2000 - September 2001 Employer Royal Dick Vet,  Edinburgh University

Dr Ben Sturgeon is a British veterinary surgeon, project and business coordinator, clinical advisor, mentor and communicator. He is CEO of Crustacean Compassion, an animal welfare organisation campaigning for the humane treatment of crabs, lobsters, and other decapod crustaceans.

Signing the decapod crustaceans petition

On 18 August 2023, Crustacean Compassion tweeted:

Thank you for sharing our new campaign to #CloseTheLoophole and put an end to the cruel practice of live dismemberment 🦐

If you haven't yet signed the petition, please do: https://buff.ly/47spLQB

Delivering the decapod crustaceans petition

Dr Ben Sturgeon delivering the decapod crustaceans petition to 10 Downing Street

On Wednesday 12 October 2022, the Crustacean Compassion team headed to 10 Downing Street to deliver a letter to the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss. The letter calls for the government to commit to protecting animals like crabs, lobsters, prawns and nephrops (decapod crustaceans).

Earlier in 2022, decapods were included in the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act. This is the first time they have been officially recognised as being capable of feeling pain in law. Although this was a massive step in the right direction, the Sentience Act itself does not impose any codes of practice to change how decapods are treated. Instead, the inclusion of decapods in the Sentience Act means that their welfare must be considered in future policy decisions.

The previous government had committed to reviewing current animal welfare legislation with consideration of the Sentience Act. Unfortunately, the new government, led by Liz Truss, has not yet made such a commitment.

It is crucial that the new government commits to improving animal welfare and reviewing animal welfare legislation now that decapods are officially sentient. Crustacean Compassion produced a pre-written email for supporters to send to Prime Minister Liz Truss asking her to prioritise animal welfare.

Dear Liz Truss,

Congratulations on your position as new Prime Minister. I am writing to call for a commitment to continue the progress on legal protection for animals like crabs, lobsters and prawns (decapod crustaceans) made in the past year.

There was significant progress made on issues affecting these animals under the previous government, in which you served. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act successfully passed through parliament with decapod crustaceans included in it, making it the first UK law to recognise decapods as sentient animals. This was a result of the London School of Economics’ report on decapod sentience which concluded that these animals are sentient and do feel pain. The overarching central recommendation of the report was that: 

“…all ...decapod crustaceans be regarded as sentient animals for the purposes of UK animal welfare law. They should be counted as “animals” for the purposes of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and included in the scope of any future legislation relating to animal sentience”.

While this historic recognition of their sentience is a hugely important step forward, animals like crabs and lobsters need and deserve further, significant welfare improvements. The government made a commitment in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare to consider further protections for decapod crustaceans following recognition of their sentience. As Prime Minister, will you pledge such protections of these sentient animals?

The Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto states that ‘high standards of animal welfare are one of the hallmarks of a civilised society.’ I fully agree with this sentiment, we’re a ‘nation of animal lovers’, with almost three quarters of the public saying that they would like to see the government pass more laws to improve animal welfare.

I care about animals, and no animal should be sent alive in the post, boiled alive or subjected to unregulated scientific experiments, and humans should have a duty of care to prevent their suffering. Don’t let this continue to happen to animals like crabs and lobsters.

Please reassure me that, as our new Prime Minister, you will act to give these vulnerable animals the legal protections they need and deserve. Please commit to supporting and taking forward the Animal Welfare Action Plan at the earliest opportunity.

Thank you for taking your time to read this.

The Crustacean Compassion team were also joined at No.10 by Larry the Downing Street cat who appears to support the cause!

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