Antibiotic overuse in shrimp aquaculture creates welfare problems through resistance and chronic disease, alongside serious public health implications.
Antibiotic overuse in shrimp farming creates a cycle that ultimately worsens welfare outcomes. Heavy antibiotic use selects for resistant pathogens that become harder to treat over time. When resistant disease strikes, shrimp cannot be effectively treated and mass mortality events cause suffering and death in large numbers of animals. The short-term solution of antibiotic dosing perpetuates the long-term problem of resistance. Additionally, antibiotic disruption of microbiome communities may affect shrimp immune function and health in ways not yet fully understood. The welfare-positive approach is prevention through better biosecurity, lower stocking densities, and disease-resistant genetics rather than prophylactic antibiotic suppression of disease in overcrowded, stressful conditions.