Disease outbreaks in shrimp aquaculture cause massive mortality events and raise serious welfare questions about the experience of billions of farmed shrimp.
The welfare status of shrimp remains scientifically uncertain but increasingly compelling. Evidence includes wound-directed grooming behavior, avoidance learning, and physiological stress responses. If shrimp are sentient, farmed shrimp welfare is one of the largest animal welfare issues by sheer number of individuals affected - hundreds of billions are farmed annually. Disease epidemics that kill entire populations may involve mass suffering. High-density pond conditions, poor water quality, and transport stress before slaughter create multiple potential welfare hazards.