The slaughter of billions of prawns annually raises welfare questions given evidence of their capacity for nociception.
Prawn slaughter welfare is one of the most numerically significant and least addressed welfare issues in aquaculture. The scale of production means even small improvements in slaughter humaneness would benefit an enormous number of individuals. Ice slurry immersion causes gradual cooling that, if prawns are sentient, represents prolonged suffering. Electrical stunning technology exists and would represent a significant welfare improvement if adopted. The practical challenge is the enormous throughput of commercial prawn processing requiring high-speed, reliable systems compatible with existing production infrastructure.