The Ruling on Hunting Spiny Lobsters by Drowning Them and Torturing Them

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, hunting spiny lobsters has become common these days. Is it permissible to extract them by drowning them in water?

Answer:
It is not permissible to torture them, and it is not permissible to take them without the intention of eating them, for the sake of playing with them or torturing them. This is not permissible. People nowadays do not eat the meat of sheep, so how can they eat the meat of spiny lobsters? But they eat them as a form of torturing them, and sell them to children and to those who torture them, starve them, and make them thirsty. This is not permissible. It is not permissible for these animals to be tortured. It is only permissible for the one who wants to eat them, and he does not torture them. Indeed, Allah has prescribed excellence in everything. So when you slaughter, then slaughter with excellence. Do not strangle them with the car’s exhaust pipe, nor drown them. Rather, he takes them in the usual way if possible. If it is not possible, he leaves them.