Prawns and shrimp are among the most widely consumed seafood globally — the emerging welfare science and improving standards for farmed species.
Prawn and shrimp welfare sits in scientific uncertainty, but the precautionary principle increasingly argues for welfare consideration in these commercially important species. The evidence for nociception is growing, eyestalk ablation is clearly a tissue-damaging procedure performed at massive scale, and high-density farming conditions cause measurable physiological stress. Acting on this evidence does not require resolving the full question of shrimp sentience — it requires treating animals at meaningful probability of experience with the care that probability warrants. Replacing eyestalk ablation with humane spawning induction methods and reducing density to welfare-positive levels are achievable improvements that the industry should pursue.