Prawn slaughter methods vary considerably in their humaneness, with rapid killing approaches increasingly recommended given growing evidence for crustacean sentience.
As evidence for crustacean sentience and nociception grows, slaughter method matters increasingly for penaeid prawns. Live boiling without prior stunning causes escape behaviour and prolonged death. Ice slurry is more humane than hot water but slower than electrical stunning. Electrical stunning renders prawns immobile within seconds and is the most welfare-positive available option at commercial scale. The Shrimp Welfare Project and similar organisations are driving improvements in commercial slaughter practices. Consumer and retailer demand for welfare-improved slaughter drives industry change.