They are a popular staple for office lunches, barbecues and takeaways, but prawns often suffer an unpleasant death before reaching our plates.
Animal rights campaigners say billions of prawns farmed each year deserve better welfare protection and are targeting what they describe as “atrocious” practices of “eyestalk ablation” and suffocation in ice slurry.
This weekend, Waitrose confirmed it will introduce electrical stunning for all its farmed prawns by the end of next year. It has already phased out eyestalk ablation in its supply chain.
“Animal welfare is a top priority for Waitrose, and since 2023 we’ve been working with our suppliers to push our industry-leading standards even higher by trialling electrical prawn stunning,” said a spokesperson.
“We’ve committed to rolling this out to our entire supply chain by the end of next year, and this applies to all our farmed shrimp and prawns.”
It is thought that more than 440 billion prawns and shrimp are farmed each year, along with billions caught wild. The UK imports shrimp and prawns worth about £570m a year.
The global supply chain of farmed shrimp is booming as consumers opt for healthier options, but welfare concerns are now being raised. Eyestalk ablation involves the removal, typically by a blade and then crushing, of one or both of a mother prawn’s eyes to stimulate egg production.
When slaughtered, prawns are supposed to die from thermal shock in a mixture of ice and water, but campaigners say the method is often ineffective and prawns can have a prolonged death from asphyxiation.
Legislation passed in the UK in 2022 provided legal recognition that decapod crustaceans, including crabs, lobster, prawns and shrimp, are sentient animals with the capacity to experience pain, distress and harm.
The International Council for Animal Welfare (ICAW) said it wants all retailers to commit to humane slaughter and end ablation. To date, according to ICAW, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Ocado and now Waitrose have ended the practice, or committed to end it, and are implementing electric stunning for farmed prawns. It has urged other supermarkets, including Co-op, Morrisons, Iceland and Asda, to follow suit.
The group, which had been in talks with Waitrose on welfare issues, said shrimp have been “treated as if they were vegetables”.
Justine Audemard, head of negotiations at ICAW, said: “Electric stunning has been recognised as the most humane method and will significantly reduce the suffering of prawns during slaughter. It’s easy to implement for retailers.
“There is growing recognition of the sentience of these animals, by the UK government and other governments in Europe. We know that when people are educated about what they go through, they are willing to pay a little more for a product that is respectful of animal welfare.”
Research has shown that comparable levels of egg productivity can be reached without eyestalk ablation.
The global shrimp market, which includes prawns and shrimp, is worth more than £30bn a year and has been boosted by increased demand for low-fat, protein-rich foods. The biggest exporters of prawns to the UK are Vietnam, India and Ecuador.
after newsletter promotion
The UK market is dominated by the larger warm-water prawns farmed in Asia and South America, and cold-water prawns that are caught wild. Smaller shrimp in standard supermarket sandwiches are typically cold-water prawns, while most king prawns on supermarket shelves or in takeaway meals will be farmed.
The Shrimp Welfare Project, a UK charity, works with the industry to support sustainable farming and improved welfare. It provides electrical stunners to producers at minimal or no cost, ensuring animals experience minimal pain during slaughter.
Krzysztof Wojtas, chief programmes officer at the project, said: “We have welfare policies for other farmed species, so why not for shrimp? We know they have anatomical structures to feel pain and react when pain is imposed on them.”
The London School of Economics and Political Science published a review in November 2021 that recommended all cephalopod molluscs, including octopus and squid, and decapod crustaceans, including crabs, lobsters and shrimp, be regarded as sentient animals.
Evidence on the sentience of shrimp is significant but limited, however, and experts say more research is now required. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 provided legal recognition that these animals had the capacity to experience pain, distress or harm.
It has been reported that legislation may lead to a ban on the boiling of lobsters alive in the UK. The Swiss government introduced a law in 2018 that required lobsters to be knocked out before boiling.
A Co-op spokesperson said: “Animal welfare is very important to us, and all our fresh and frozen prawns are ablation-free. We continue to actively work with our suppliers to ultimately abolish eyestalk ablation in our supply chain.”
It is understood the supermarket is also exploring use of electric stunning on supplier prawn farms. Morrisons declined to comment. Asda and Iceland were contacted for comment.
