Freshwater prawns are farmed in large volumes across Asia, but their sentience and welfare needs remain poorly understood and largely unaddressed by regulation.
Freshwater prawns occupy a welfare blind spot — produced in vast quantities with essentially no welfare oversight. The scientific case for crustacean sentience is stronger than often assumed: prawns show nociception, avoidance learning, and physiological stress responses. Eyestalk ablation — removing the eyestalk of female prawns to stimulate mating — is widely practiced despite being invasive and painful. The absence of regulatory protection means welfare improvements depend on voluntary industry action and consumer pressure. This is an area where welfare advocacy can make substantial difference.