Shrimp are farmed in enormous quantities globally, and harvest methods including live boiling and freezing without prior stunning cause potential suffering. Evidence of crustacean sentience is growing.
If shrimp have the capacity to experience pain - an increasingly supported scientific position - then harvest methods involving live boiling or freezing without stunning cause significant suffering to billions of individuals annually. The scale of shrimp production means that even a small probability of significant sentience represents an enormous potential welfare issue. Precautionary adoption of stunning methods, as recommended by the UK government's Sentience Report, is a reasonable response to scientific uncertainty. Consumer and regulatory pressure are the primary levers for change in an industry with minimal current welfare standards.