Penaeus vannamei dominates global shrimp production, with welfare concerns around extreme crowding, disease pressure and slaughter methods.
The capacity for pain in decapod crustaceans including shrimp is increasingly supported by scientific evidence. Extreme crowding in intensive systems causes chronic stress and immune suppression, predisposing animals to disease. Eyestalk ablation — removal of the eyestalk to induce spawning — is performed without anaesthesia and causes tissue damage. Disease-related mass mortality events represent welfare crises at enormous scale across Asian shrimp farms.