Freshwater prawns farmed in Southeast Asia and South Asia face welfare challenges from crowding, water quality, and the crustacean welfare question.
Freshwater prawns in intensive farming face welfare challenges from aggression and cannibalism at high densities causing injury and stress. Poor water quality causes suboptimal conditions affecting behavior and health. Eyestalk ablation performed without anesthesia causes acute pain and alters normal physiology. Their evidence-based nociceptive capacity means these welfare harms represent genuine suffering. The scale of freshwater prawn aquaculture means welfare improvements would affect enormous numbers of animals.