Animal category: Crustaceans

Souffrance à Vendre - Shrimp welfare in European supermarkets

ICAW (International Council for Animal Welfare)

Published in 2025

Report on the growing awareness of the need to protect shrimp welfare  in Europe, responding to both ethical questions and growing consumer demand, and supported by the scientific recognition of this crustacean's sentience. Progress is being made, with several distributors abandoning the use of eyestalk ablation and adopting electric stunning before slaughter.

Document Types: Technical review

Animal categories:Crustaceans

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Assessing the Welfare of Spiny Lobsters and True Lobsters in Aquaria: Biology-Informed Best-Practice Guidelines for Captive Conditions

Fruscella L., Elwood R.W., Passantino A.

Published in 2025

Study assessing the welfare of spiny lobster and true lobster in captivity, highlighting the gaps between their biological and behavioral needs and current commercial practices. It recommends appropriate housing conditions (separation and appropriate stocking density, provision of shelter, claws should not be tied, no direct light, monitoring for water quality) to improve their health and welfare..

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Crustaceans

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European Parliament: Written answer to Question E-001689/25: Animal welfare standards in EU aquaculture to boost competitiveness and food security

question : Niels Fuglsang (S&D), Robert Biedroń (S&D), Thomas Pellerin-Carlin (S&D), Sirpa Pietikäinen (PPE), Krzysztof Śmiszek (S&D), Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA), Marianne Vind (S&D), Sebastian Everding (The Left), Maria Noichl (S&D), Isabella Lövin (Greens/EFA), Günther Sidl (S&D), Per Clausen (The Left), Michal Wiezik (Renew), Alice Kuhnke (Greens/EFA), Pär Holmgren (Greens/EFA), Christel Schaldemose (S&D). Reply: Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2025

Answer from th Commission to questions from a group of MEPs on the inclusion of aquatic animals in the new animal welfare regulations. The Commission states that aquatic animals will not be included in the forthcoming consultations. Instead, its chosen strategy is to improve the application of the existing rules and to make use of the work of EURCAW-Aqua to develop indicators and improve scientific and technical knowledge.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Crustaceans, Molluscs, Fish

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Balancing culinary excellence with ethical responsibility: A scientific perspective on animal welfare in gastronomy

Anastasio Argüello, Marta González-Cabrera, Antonio Morales-de la Nuez, Lorenzo E. Hernández-Castellano, Manuel Betancor-Sánchez, Noemí Castro

Published in 2025

Study analyzing animal welfare issues along the full length of the food chain, from breeding and rearing to culinary preparation. It highlights ethical tensions, innovations (lab-grown meat, plant-based alternatives, insects) and regulatory gaps. It proposes a roadmap to integrate animal welfare science into culinary training and promote the sustainable and responsible enjoyment of food.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Crustaceans, Sheep, Fish, Pigs, Poultry

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Animal welfare risks from commercial practices involving cephalopod molluscs and decapod crustaceans

Browning H, Burn C, Schnell AK, Crump A, Birch J.

Published in 2025

Article updating a 2021 study. It proposes practical improvements that can be made to the welfare of cephalopods and crustaceans, and identifies research priorities as a guide for good practice.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Crustaceans, Mollusks

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A History of Pain Studies and Changing Attitudes to the Welfare of Crustaceans

R. W. Elwood

Published in 2025

Review article tracing the evolution of opinion on pain in crustaceans over time. There are numerous scientific studies that discuss indications,  but not incontrovertible proof, that Crustaceans are sensitive to pain. The difficulty in proving beyond doubt that Crustaceans experience pain leads some experts continue to question this, while others invoke the precautionary principle. This principle was applied in 2022, leading to the inclusion of decapod crustaceans in the UK's Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act of that year.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Crustaceans

Key words:Consciousness, Pain, Euthanasia

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Putative Nociceptive Responses in a Decapod Crustacean: The Shore Crab (Carcinus maenas)

Kasiouras, E.; Hubbard, P.C.; Gräns, A.; Sneddon, L.U.

Published in 2024

Study of nociceptors in Shore Crabs using electrophysiological recordings. The results provide evidence of distinct responses to mechanical and chemical stimuli, confirming the presence of nociceptors in the areas tested.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Crustaceans

Key words:Pain, Brain integration

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Insights into Decapod Sentience: Applying the General Welfare Index (GWI) for Whiteleg Shrimp (Penaeus vannamei - Boone, 1931) Reared in Aquaculture Grow-Out Ponds

Pedrazzani, A.S.; Cozer, N.; Quintiliano, M.H.; Ostrensky, A.

Published in 2024

Study adapting the General Welfare Index (GWI) for shrimp Penaeus vannamei, integrating 31 specific indicators, to better manage their welfare in aquaculture.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Crustaceans

Keywords:Animal adaptation to environment, Animal-based measurement, Welfare indicators, Behavioral disorders

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Machine learning-based understanding of aquatic animal behaviour in waters

Ignacio Martinez-Alpiste, Jean-Benoît de Tailly, Jose M. Alcaraz-Calero, Katherine A. Sloman, Mhairi E. Alexander, Qi Wang

Published in 2024

Scientific paper proposing an automated method for real-time monitoring of shrimp behavior, using an instance segmentation system based on machine learning. This system, which is 89% accurate at 30 fps, provides a way to overcome the challenges of working in harsh underwater environments, facilitating biological investigations and improving automated aquaculture systems.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Crustaceans, Fish

Keywords:Precision farming, Experimentation, Identification, livestock farming systemBehavioral disorders

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European Parliament: Answer to Question E-001217/24: Welfare of crustaceans at slaughter

Question: Sarah Wiener (Greens/EFA). Answer: Mrs Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2024

Response from the European Commission to an MEP's question on the welfare of crustaceans at slaughter. The Commission states that it has mandated EFSA to produce an expert opinion on the welfare of certain invertebrates such as decapods. It also refers to the creation, at the beginning of 2024, of the EU Reference Center for Aquatic Animal Welfare.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Crustaceans

Key words:Consciousness, Pain, Euthanasia

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