Shrimp Biosecurity and Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

How biosecurity failures in shrimp farming lead to mass disease mortality events and the welfare implications of disease management.

Key Facts

Shrimp disease outbreaks including Early Mortality Syndrome have caused billions of dollars in losses and massive animal mortality
Biosecurity failures allow pathogens to enter shrimp ponds, causing mass mortality events
Disease treatments including antibiotics raise welfare concerns about treatment stress and environmental contamination
Better biosecurity reduces disease incidence, improving welfare by preventing mass mortality events
Indoor recirculating aquaculture systems have superior biosecurity compared to outdoor pond systems

Welfare Considerations

Shrimp biosecurity and welfare are closely linked. Disease outbreaks cause mass mortality in shrimp ponds — events that involve individual suffering at enormous scale given the billions of shrimp produced. Prevention through biosecurity is both economically and welfare-motivated. Antibiotic treatment of disease outbreaks raises additional welfare concerns including treatment stress and development of resistance. Indoor recirculating systems with superior biosecurity produce shrimp with lower disease incidence, benefiting welfare alongside environmental performance.

What You Can Do

Choose shrimp from certified operations with strong biosecurity and disease management standards
Support research into alternatives to antibiotic disease treatment in shrimp aquaculture
Advocate for biosecurity standards as a welfare requirement in shrimp certification
Learn about shrimp farming welfare and disease from Fish Welfare Initiative resources