Disease is the primary cause of welfare impairment and economic loss in farmed shrimp, and prevention-focused management is both welfare-positive and economically rational.
Shrimp disease management is a welfare issue at scale. When WSSV or EMS strikes a shrimp pond, millions of individual animals — each with at least some capacity for experiencing negative states — experience acute distress and die. The welfare cost of mass mortality events is compounded by the environmental harm of diseased pond water discharge. Prevention through biosecurity, SPF broodstock, and probiotic supplementation reduces disease incidence, decreases welfare-harming mass mortality, and reduces antibiotic pressure simultaneously. A welfare-centered approach to shrimp disease management prioritizes prevention infrastructure over reactive treatment, recognizing that preventing mass suffering is more ethical and more effective than treating it after it begins.