Billions of shrimp are farmed annually under conditions that often cause significant suffering. Evidence increasingly supports shrimp sentience, making welfare reforms urgent.
Eyestalk ablation — removing or crushing the eyestalks of female shrimp to trigger reproduction — is performed on millions of animals without pain relief. Research suggests shrimp have nociceptors and respond to harmful stimuli in ways consistent with pain experience. High-density farming, poor water quality, and disease represent major welfare concerns affecting billions of individual animals.