Shrimp are farmed in larger numbers than any other animal on Earth, yet welfare standards for this sector are almost entirely absent. Emerging certification efforts offer hope.
Shrimp welfare represents perhaps the most significant gap between the scale of animal use and the adequacy of welfare protection. Eyestalk ablation - cutting or burning off one eyestalk to stimulate ovarian development in female broodstock shrimp - is a painful procedure performed on millions of animals annually with no anesthesia or pain management. The evidence that shrimp experience pain has strengthened significantly, meaning this practice causes suffering on an enormous scale. High-density stocking in ponds causes chronic crowding stress, elevated ammonia, disease pressure, and abnormal behavior. The invisibility of aquatic invertebrates in public consciousness has allowed this welfare crisis to persist with minimal scrutiny.