Whole Foods Market stops selling live lobsters and live soft shell crabs

Whole Foods Market Inc., a natural and organic foods retailer, said it will stop selling live lobsters and crabs at its natural foods grocery stores immediately, on the grounds that it's inhumane.

An Austin, Texas based largest grocery and health food store in US, spent months studying the sale of live lobsters from ship to supermarket stores, trying to determine whether the creatures suffer along the way.

In the study, the company found some stores with "lobster condos," filling tanks with stacks of large pipes the creatures would be able to crawl through. And they moved the tanks behind seafood counters and away from children's flapping fingers.

After evaluating the entire supply chain process, the American company decided it will also cease selling live soft shell crabs. Temporarily, it will only sell frozen raw and cooked lobster products from suppliers meeting specific quality standards for humane treatment, handling and processing standards, the company said. Closely held Clearwater Seafoods LP is the only supplier that meets the standards, it said.

In a statement, the company said that Lobsters and crabs "have some degree of awareness, feeling pain and having the ability to learn," adding that many lobsters spend several months in storage facilities before being displayed in supermarket tanks.

On the other hand, one marine biologist-Bob Bayer disagrees with Whole Foods' assessment saying that “We don't believe they feel pain and there are a number of studies that back this up.”

"They really don't have a brain. These are really not kind and gentle animals," added Bob Bayer, professor and executive director at the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine. The institute gets donations from the lobster industry, Bayer said.

On contrary, John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market said, “We place as much emphasis on the importance of humane treatment and quality of life for all animals as we do on the expectations for quality and flavor. It is an integral component of our standards for every species we sell, and lobster cannot be any different,” adding that “Part of our business is to continually learn and evolve, and while the door is open to new information, we are satisfied with our decision to stop selling live lobsters at this time.”