Fury at Amazon's delivery of live lobsters

Canadian lobster is being sold on the UK Amazon site. Photo/123RF.

Online retailer Amazon has been branded 'barbaric' and 'disgusting' after it emerged the site is selling live lobsters.

The 'mouth-watering' Canadian lobster is available to purchase for £42.50 ($81) but shoppers are furious and argued it is cruel to deliver any live animal.

They are being sold by British company Fine Food Specialist on Amazon and they even gave details of how to prepare the meal - by suggesting to cook it for 19 minutes.

This move comes as part of the growing air cargo movement, which now gives consumers access to fresh produce from faraway places.

CNN reports it has now become possible to transport anything from Ecuadorian roses to a locomotive via a range of dedicated cargo planes.

The Airbus Beluga, Boeing 747 Dreamlifter, Antonov An-124 'Ruslan' and Lockheed Martin LM-100J 'Super Hercules' are just some of the cargo planes currently lugging product around the world.

In 2016, Amazon made a big push into this space, investing in its own cargo plane in a bid to cut out the middleman. The move was designed to speed up delivery of long-haul orders, particularly for Amazon Prime customers.

Amazon has invested in its own fleet to ensure faster delivery of long-haul orders. Photo/Amazon.

However, not everyone is a fan of Amazon's sale of fresh Canadian lobster in the UK.

One woman was so angry that she threatened to close her account with Amazon after realising they were on sale and can spend days in a box as they are driven around the country.

The animals are 'usually dispatched within four to five days' and if ordered today the lobster could arrive by Monday, February 12.

Critics feel the delivery of fresh, live lobster amounts to animal cruelty. Photo/Amazon.

Susan McKenna wrote: 'It is disgraceful, barbaric and cruel to send live animals through the post. I am closing my account with Amazon today.'

Amazon user Miranda added: 'This is despicable, living creatures being ordered mail-order as though they were inanimate objects, with instructions in the listing about how to boil them alive.

'Lobsters feel pain - I watched my father boil crabs alive when I was a child and they fought and pushed at the lid of the pan and were so desperate to escape.

'It was extremely distressing and completely obvious to anybody watching that they were in unbearable pain.

'This listing and the others for lobsters and crayfish has no place here and should be removed.'

It comes just days after more than 50 campaigners and celebrities called for protection to stop lobsters and crabs being boiled alive.

Wildlife presenter Chris Packham and comedian Bill Bailey are among those who have signed an open letter to Environment Secretary Michael Gove.

They say there is clear scientific evidence that lobsters can feel pain, and call for the crustaceans to be classed as sentient creatures in a new Animal Welfare Bill.

Fine Food Specialist was founded by former chef Drogo Montagu in 2010 and he said there was no evidence that lobsters could feel pain.

He told The Sunday Times: 'In some cases the finest quality is live seafood.

'There is a small market for these products, but it is generally people who love their food and want the very best.'

The description of the Canadian lobster online reads: 'It is known to be larger than its Scottish Cousin, and some say has a slightly sweeter taste.

'This mouth-watering fruit of the sea doesn't require any complicated flavours; all a lobster needs is some herb butter and lots of napkins.'

MailOnline contacted Amazon and Fine Food Specialist for comment.

The listing has still not been removed from the site at the time of publishing.