Farmed shrimp are produced at enormous scale with welfare conditions that are largely unregulated, despite growing evidence that shrimp experience nociception and stress.
Shrimp welfare sits at the frontier of welfare science — the scientific evidence for shrimp sentience is more limited than for vertebrates, but growing evidence for nociception and stress responses warrants precautionary consideration. Eyestalk ablation is particularly concerning: removing eyes without anesthesia to manipulate reproductive physiology causes observable acute stress responses and is widely condemned by welfare scientists. High-density intensive shrimp farming creates chronic stress through crowding, poor water quality, and disease vulnerability. Welfare-positive shrimp production using lower densities, enriched environments, and elimination of eyestalk ablation is technically feasible and is being adopted by progressive producers responding to market pressure.