Hold it. Apparently, the motivation here is to acknowledge that these animals are somehow sentient; in other words, if any law is passed, it will be to prohibit

Hold it. Apparently, the motivation here is to acknowledge that these animals are somehow sentient; in other words, if any law is passed, it will be to prohibit practices that make these animals suffer. Nothing is said here about depredation of these animals populations. So, IMO, a lobster boiled alive will suffer just as much as a lobster crushed by the jaws of a hungry seal. So, do we need to legally protect them from seals and its horrific hunting practices?