Shrimp are farmed in vast numbers globally, with production exceeding 5 million tonnes annually. The welfare of shrimp is scientifically uncertain but the scale of production makes precautionary consideration important.
Shrimp welfare sits at the frontier of animal welfare science — the question of whether shrimp experience suffering in a morally relevant way is genuinely uncertain. However, the extraordinary scale of shrimp farming means that even a small probability of relevant suffering, when multiplied across trillions of animals, creates substantial moral risk. The precautionary principle — improving conditions even under uncertainty — is the appropriate response. Improving shrimp welfare through better water quality management, reduced stocking densities, and more humane slaughter is both low-cost relative to the potential welfare benefit and an appropriate response to scientific uncertainty.