Scientific evidence for shrimp sentience has grown substantially, and the Birch Review's conclusion that decapod crustaceans are likely sentient has galvanised calls for welfare standards in shrimp production.
The potential sentience of shrimp — farmed in numbers that dwarf most other animal species — makes shrimp welfare one of the most numerically significant animal welfare questions in the world. If shrimp experience something akin to pain or distress, the scale of welfare harm in current production systems is enormous. Practical welfare improvements are available and being implemented by progressive farms working with the Shrimp Welfare Project: reducing stocking densities, improving water quality, adopting more humane stunning before slaughter, and eliminating practices like eyestalk ablation used to stimulate egg production. Consumer awareness and retailer engagement are the primary levers for scaling these improvements across the industry.