Disease is the primary cause of shrimp aquaculture loss globally and represents a significant welfare burden. Biosecurity and preventive management protect both shrimp welfare and farm viability.
Mass mortality disease events in shrimp ponds cause the deaths of millions of individuals over short periods. Whether individual shrimp experience the suffering of acute infection in ways that parallel vertebrate pain responses remains scientifically contested, but the precautionary principle and emerging evidence for decapod nociception warrant concern. The welfare burden of disease in shrimp aquaculture includes both the direct impact of infection and the often extreme measures taken to control outbreaks — complete pond drainage and disinfection that kills all remaining animals. Preventive biosecurity approaches that reduce disease incidence protect both individual welfare and the ecological welfare of surrounding aquatic environments from chemical treatment runoff.