Shrimp are the most widely consumed seafood globally and are farmed in enormous numbers. The welfare status of shrimp is uncertain but growing evidence suggests they may experience pain and stress.
Shrimp occupy a morally uncertain but increasingly important place in welfare ethics. While definitive evidence of shrimp consciousness is lacking, the scale of production, hundreds of billions of animals annually, means the expected welfare impact is enormous even if the probability of sentience per individual is modest. Eyestalk ablation causes obvious harm response and should be replaced by breeding programmes using naturally responsive females. Stocking density and water quality improvements reduce disease and mortality. Pre-slaughter methods that rapidly incapacitate shrimp are technically feasible and are being developed. The precautionary argument for investing in shrimp welfare improvement is compelling given the scale of production.