Giant tiger prawns are farmed intensively across Southeast Asia in pond systems, with welfare considerations around disease management, chemical use, and harvest methods.
Giant tiger prawns in intensive pond systems face welfare challenges from the disease-driven cycle of intensive aquaculture. White spot syndrome disease causes rapid mass mortality events, with prawns showing crawling onto pond margins before dying, a behavioral sign consistent with acute distress. Intensive chemical prophylaxis including antibiotics and disinfectants causes environmental and physiological stress. Harvest by draining ponds and concentrating animals in shrinking water volumes causes extreme crowding and oxygen depletion. The growing scientific evidence for crustacean sentience makes the welfare of the billions of prawns produced annually an increasingly important ethical consideration.