Freshwater prawn aquaculture is growing rapidly in South Asia, with welfare implications from high stocking densities, disease management, and slaughter methods receiving little scientific attention.
Freshwater prawns occupy an uncertain position in welfare science — their nervous systems are simpler than vertebrates, but research suggests decapod crustaceans respond to noxious stimuli in ways consistent with pain experience. Farming conditions that cause routine injury through aggression, as well as slaughter methods involving crushing, boiling alive, or chilling without stunning, may cause significant suffering if prawns have any capacity for negative experience. The precautionary principle supports improving conditions even in the absence of certainty.