Shrimp are the world's most consumed seafood by value, with billions farmed in conditions that raise growing welfare concerns as evidence for crustacean sentience accumulates.
The sentience question for shrimp is scientifically contested but increasingly leaning toward recognition of some capacity for suffering. Eyestalk ablation, performed without anesthesia on millions of broodstock shrimp annually, involves removal of sensory organs containing significant neural tissue - a procedure that would not be tolerated in vertebrates. High-density stocking, disease-driven chronic stress, and live boiling represent additional welfare concerns across the billions of individuals produced annually. The Shrimp Welfare Project's work on electrical stunning before boiling is a pragmatic intervention that could reduce suffering at scale.