How emerging shrimp welfare certification programs are developing measurable standards for a species long excluded from welfare consideration.
Shrimp occupy an unusual position in the welfare landscape - produced in vast quantities, potentially capable of suffering, but historically excluded from welfare consideration due to taxonomic distance from vertebrates and scientific uncertainty about their sentience. The precautionary principle suggests that where evidence of nociception exists and numbers are enormous, welfare improvements are warranted even without certainty. The development of shrimp-specific welfare standards, while early stage, represents an important recognition that aquaculture welfare must extend to crustaceans. Supporting this emerging field and avoiding the most clearly aversive practices like eyestalk ablation is a reasonable welfare response to current uncertainty.