Do lobsters have brains?

Lobsters don’t have a centralized brain. Instead, they have a decentralized nervous system made up of 15 ganglia — clusters of nerve cells — that control different parts of their body.

According to the University of Maine’s Lobster Institute, it is still “somewhat contested” whether this system allows them to feel pain, with researchers long debating the topic. While they have nerves that can detect harmful stimuli, that doesn’t necessarily mean they experience pain the way humans do.

The debate over the most humane way to cook Maine’s most famous export has raged for years. In 2018, Switzerland banned boiling lobsters alive without first stunning them.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, sued in July to stop the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland from boiling live lobsters, arguing that they can feel pain. The case is still pending in Knox County Superior Court.