White-leg shrimp are the world's most farmed crustacean by volume, with slaughter methods including live boiling, freezing alive, and crushing that raise significant welfare concerns given growing evidence for crustacean pain.
Live ice immersion causes progressive hypothermic paralysis but may not cause rapid loss of consciousness in all shrimp species. Live boiling induces immediate and prolonged pain responses visible as vigorous escape behaviour before heat immobilises the animal. Crushing is widely used in processing but its humaneness depends on speed and completeness of injury. Scientific consensus is moving toward recognition that shrimp likely experience pain, making current industrial-scale slaughter practices ethically problematic. Electrical stunning before slaughter is under development for decapods.