Emerging shrimp welfare certification standards are beginning to address the needs of one of the world's most farmed but welfare-neglected animal groups.
The development of shrimp welfare certification standards represents an important step toward extending welfare consideration to one of the world's most farmed but least protected animal groups. If shrimp have any capacity for suffering - which scientific evidence increasingly suggests - then the current absence of welfare standards in their production represents an enormous welfare failure at scale. Eyestalk ablation causes injury and likely pain to broodstock females. The certification journey for shrimp welfare faces the challenge of scientific uncertainty about their sentience, which some industry actors use to resist implementing any welfare measures. The precautionary principle supports action despite uncertainty.