Thailand is a major producer of black tiger prawns, with intensive pond and cage systems raising welfare concerns around disease outbreaks, stocking densities, and welfare at slaughter for this commercially important species.
Disease outbreaks cause mass mortality events in which affected prawns experience tissue destruction, paralysis, and death from EMS. Heavy antibiotic use to prevent and treat disease generates resistance concerns and indicates ongoing welfare failures. High-density ponds produce water quality deterioration as production progresses, causing hypoxic stress in surviving animals. Live ice immersion slaughter may cause prolonged cold-induced distress before loss of sensory function. Wild-caught larvae for stocking are subjected to long-distance transport with significant mortality.