Disease outbreaks are the leading cause of mortality and economic loss in shrimp aquaculture, causing significant welfare harm to billions of farmed shrimp and driving problematic antibiotic use.
Shrimp disease management welfare involves the acute suffering of mass mortality events alongside the chronic welfare issues of poor water quality and overcrowding that create disease susceptibility. A white spot disease outbreak that kills an entire pond of shrimp within days involves suffering across millions of individual animals. The response of antibiotic prophylaxis — treating all animals to prevent expected disease — is a welfare and public health concern, medicating animals that may not need treatment and contributing to resistance that threatens human health. Biosecurity approaches that prevent disease introduction through better pond design, water treatment and stocking management address the root cause more effectively. The welfare case for intensive biosecure production systems is partly that disease mortality rates are dramatically lower.