'Lobsters don't feel pain'

It is a debate that has troubled seafood lovers everywhere - do lobsters feel pain when they are thrown into boiling water?

A new study, for the Norwegian government, has found lobsters and other invertebrates such as crabs and snails don't suffer at all - even though lobsters do tend to thrash in boiling water.

The report is aimed at finding if creatures without backbones should be subject to animal welfare legislation.

The study found the lobster's brain is similar in size and capability to an insect's and thrashing around in boiling water is simply an escape mechanism.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals dismissed the research claiming the Norwegian government did not want to hurt the country's fishing industry.