The harvest and slaughter of farmed shrimp involves welfare considerations that are only beginning to receive serious scientific and industry attention.
Shrimp harvest welfare sits at the intersection of scientific uncertainty and massive scale. Given the billions of shrimp harvested annually, even a small improvement in the humaneness of slaughter methods would have enormous welfare impact. The Crustacean Compassion campaign and allied organisations have pushed for regulatory recognition of shrimp sentience, with some success. The precautionary principle argues for investment in research into rapid, low-stress harvest and kill methods even before certainty about the depth of shrimp experience is achieved. Consumer pressure on aquaculture certification bodies to include harvest welfare requirements is a priority action.