Identifying the most effective ways to reduce animal suffering, improve welfare standards, and influence positive change for trillions of animals worldwide.
Conducting polls, experiments, and focus groups and analyzing data to help organizations and policymakers tackle critical issues in AI, animal welfare, global health, and beyond.
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In 2019, the suffering of farmed shrimp was largely unnoticed. There was limited awareness about the extent of suffering these invertebrates endure in large-scale farming operations.
After examining evidence that some invertebrates may be sentient, Rethink Priorities identified a critical knowledge gap regarding their welfare, and began researching the invertebrate farming industry. Our Animal Welfare Department found that the production of shrimps impacts more animals than insect farming, wild fish captures, or the farming of any other vertebrates for human consumption. The team also investigated the major welfare threats that shrimp face. Their findings became a much-needed roadmap for advocates and grantmakers to take meaningful, targeted action to improve shrimp welfare.
440 billion
farmed shrimps are killed each year, making them the animals most commonly used and killed for food production
2021
saw the formation of the first organization dedicated to shrimp welfare, inspired by our research on the issue
4
Rethink Priorities’ reports delve into shrimp welfare issues, covering the scale, welfare threats, prioritization, and interventions
Impact
Empowering advocacy
In 2020 and 2021, RP shared our preliminary findings on shrimp welfare with European food retailers, leading a major retailer to change its practices.
RP’s research also inspired Mercy for Animals to start the world’s first demonstration for shrimp welfare. Within a few months, this corporate campaign resulted in UK supermarket giant Tesco pledging to ban inhumane practices, such as eyestalk ablation and the use of ice-slurry slaughter. The campaign now aims to expand its reach to new corporations and regions.
“Rethink Priorities’ research regarding invertebrate suffering and estimating the number of shrimps killed for human consumption was the seminal work for the launch of Shrimp Welfare Project. Our organization would likely not exist without Rethink Priorities' work.”
– Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla, Co-Founder of Shrimp Welfare Project
Growing the shrimp welfare sector
RP’s research led Ambitious Impact/Charity Entrepreneurship to launch the first organization dedicated solely to shrimp welfare.
After reviewing RP’s research, Charity Entrepreneurship recommended and incubated the formation of a new organization: Shrimp Welfare Project (SWP). The organization’s co-founder, Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla, has spoken about how RP continues to inform SWP’s strategy:
“[RP’s] professional, methodical approach towards unraveling complex issues through high-quality research continues to be an invaluable asset to Shrimp Welfare Project. We anticipate their recent work to inspire more rigorous and thoughtful initiatives in the animal welfare sphere, echoing the profound and informed impact it had on our inception.”
SWP invited Daniela R. Waldhorn (RP’s Director of Animal Welfare) to serve on its Board of Advisors.
Outreach
RP’s work on shrimp welfare has also laid the foundation for legislative and other advocacy efforts around the world.
RP co-authored the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation’s Crustacean and Cephalopod Sentience Briefing, which was then submitted to the UK’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra). Alongside that briefing, RP also submitted other written evidence to the record that included polling we conducted on public sentiments recognizing invertebrates as sentient. These efforts contributed to the 2023 UK Animal Sentience Act, which legally recognizes animals as sentient beings.
In Chile, our research has also informed the strategy and advocacy programs of Vegetarianos Hoy, one of the largest animal welfare organizations in Latin America. RP’s Director of Animal Welfare also presented to the Chilean Parliament and participated in the debate on animals being legally recognized as sentient. After these efforts, the Environmental Commission of the Chamber of Deputies passed a related bill, citing our research.
Our research team also reached out to share our work on shrimp welfare with FAIRR—an influential investor network for the global food industry. In a significant step for investor engagement, FAIRR subsequently incorporated key welfare indicators into their FAIRR Protein Producer Index. Their assessment now includes phasing out eyestalk ablation, implementing effective stunning methods, and addressing future concerns such as water quality and stocking densities.
RP’s work on shrimp welfare has gained exposure through presentations at conferences, universities, and in interviews across Latin America, Europe, and the US. Influential moral philosopher Peter Singer cited our research on insect and shrimp farming in his book, Animal Liberation Now!
Onward and upward
Toward the end of 2024, RP published the final installment in its sequence of reports on shrimp welfare. Strategies for helping farmed shrimp provides practical guidance for advocates and grantmakers to support farmed shrimp welfare, offering actionable steps to improve the lives of billions of shrimps globally.
