Most prawns sold in UK supermarkets are farmed in Asia under conditions that raise serious welfare concerns, from stocking density and disease to slaughter without stunning.
Farmed prawns represent one of the largest-volume farmed animal sectors globally, yet receive minimal welfare regulatory attention. The evidence that prawns can experience pain and stress is growing — they show protective responses to noxious stimuli, learn to avoid harmful situations, and have nervous systems capable of processing nociceptive signals. Ice slurry killing without stunning, the near-universal industry practice, may cause distress. The combination of disease-driven suffering in overcrowded ponds and unstunned slaughter represents a major welfare concern at enormous scale. UK supermarkets have the market power to drive supply chain improvements if consumer and NGO pressure creates sufficient reputational incentive.