Eating live animals Eating live animals Eating live animals is the practice of humans eating animals that are still alive. It is a traditional practice in many Asian food cultures. Eating live animals, or parts of live animals, may be unlawful in certain jurisdictions under animal cruelty laws. Religious prohibitions on the eating of live animals by humans are also present in various world religions. Animals are also eaten alive for shock value. In Japan, Ikizukuri ("prepared alive") is the preparation of sashimi ("pierced food") made from live seafood. The most popular sea animal used in ikizukuri is fish but octopus is the
Amnesic shellfish poisoning Amnesic shellfish poisoning Amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) is an illness caused by consumption of the marine biotoxin called domoic acid. In mammals, including humans, domoic acid acts as a neurotoxin, causing permanent short-term memory loss, brain damage, and death in severe cases. This toxin is produced naturally by marine diatoms belonging to the genus "Pseudo-nitzschia" and the species "Nitzschia navis-varingica". When accumulated in high concentrations by shellfish during filter feeding, domoic acid can then be passed on to birds, marine mammals and humans via consumption of the contaminated shellfish. Although human illness due to domoic acid has only been associated