The welfare of shrimp at slaughter is an emerging concern as evidence for decapod sentience grows. Electrical stunning and rapid chilling are being evaluated as more humane alternatives to live boiling.
Traditional shrimp slaughter by live boiling or splitting is likely to cause pain if shrimp are sentient. The precautionary principle demands adoption of the most humane available killing method. Electrical stunning achieves immediate insensibility and is followed by death within seconds. Rapid chilling to near-freezing temperatures without prior stunning is less effective and is no longer considered a welfare-positive method. Regulatory pressure for humane shrimp killing is growing across EU and UK markets.