Shrimp are killed by methods that may cause significant suffering, despite growing evidence of their capacity for pain.
The welfare of shrimp at slaughter receives almost no attention despite their astronomical numbers. Evidence suggests shrimp have nociceptors and show behavioural responses consistent with pain. Boiling alive, ice stunning at temperatures that may cause prolonged consciousness, and live processing without prior stunning all carry significant welfare concerns. The combination of enormous scale and lack of regulation makes shrimp slaughter one of the largest potential sources of animal suffering globally.