Whiteleg shrimp is the world's most farmed crustacean, with welfare questions centred on sentience, stocking density and slaughter practices.
Whiteleg shrimp welfare is scientifically uncertain but the precautionary principle suggests treating them as potentially sentient. Research shows they show prolonged avoidance behaviour after noxious stimulation and groom injured areas, suggesting pain-like experience. Ice slurry killing causes a slow death over many minutes during which shrimp may remain conscious. At the scale of global shrimp production, even small improvements in welfare practice would benefit billions of individuals. The industry lacks welfare-focused standards equivalent to those developing for fish.