Behind the glossy marketing of “sustainable seafood” lies a brutal truth: the global shrimp industry is mutilating live female prawns — just to force them to reproduce faster.
This common yet disturbing practice is known as eyestalk ablation. It involves slicing off one or both of a female prawn’s eye stalks, typically without any form of pain relief. The goal? Speed up breeding in high-stress farm conditions.
This is not a fringe issue. Eyestalk ablation is performed in nearly every prawn hatchery worldwide, including those in Australia — a country often hailed for its animal welfare standards.
Why Are Shrimp Having Their Eyes Cut Off?
Female prawns have a gland located behind their eyes that regulates when they are ready to reproduce. In the wild, this hormonal system ensures prawns only breed when conditions are right. But in crowded, artificial farm environments, the prawns may not feel safe enough to begin reproduction.
Rather than improving these conditions, farms take a shortcut — destroying the gland by amputating the eye stalk, effectively blinding the animal and forcing her into premature sexual maturity.
s Eyestalk Ablation Painful? Science Says Yes.
The suffering this causes isn’t just theoretical. Prawns subjected to eyestalk ablation flick their tails violently, show signs of distress, and rub the wounded area — all classic signs of pain and trauma in crustaceans.
In 2021, the UK legally recognised prawns and other decapod crustaceans as sentient beings capable of experiencing pain. This followed a comprehensive review that recommended these animals be given legal protection from unnecessary suffering.
And the worst part? It’s not even necessary.
There Are Better Ways to Breed Shrimp — Without Cruelty
Multiple studies have shown that female prawns will reproduce naturally when kept in enriched, low-stress environments. Even the Global Seafood Alliance, an industry group, has acknowledged that ablation leads to weaker offspring more prone to disease and mortality.
One of the largest prawn farming companies in Latin America, SeaJoy, has already abandoned the practice completely — proving that cruelty-free shrimp farming is possible.
The Call for Change: Ban Eyestalk Ablation
Prawns are not machines. They are sentient animals who feel pain and deserve protection. It’s time for the seafood industry — including in Australia — to evolve beyond mutilation.
Eyestalk ablation is an outdated and inhumane practice that must end. We must pressure shrimp producers, retailers, and regulators to demand higher welfare standards that no longer accept cruelty as the cost of production.
Because no meal is worth an animal’s pain.
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