Perceptions Of Shrimp Welfare In Brazil

Globally, an estimated 400 billion shrimps are farmed every year. In 2020, whiteleg shrimps alone made up more than half of the total crustaceans produced in aquaculture worldwide by live weight. Although studies have shown that shrimps respond to pain, a widespread lack of legislation leaves them largely unprotected from common but harmful farming practices. This includes eyestalk ablation, which involves removing one or both eyes in breeding females to speed up reproduction — a routine practice with questionable benefits.

At the same time, issues related to shrimp welfare have historically received little attention. Because shrimps are more distantly related to humans than other species such as mammals, people tend to view them as having little intrinsic value, so their welfare generally isn’t seen as important.

For advocates, understanding public perceptions of shrimps matters since these attitudes will inevitably shape how these animals are treated in the future. In this study, researchers aimed to gauge Brazilians’ knowledge and opinions about shrimps and to identify any demographic trends in these views.

Participants were recruited via email and social media to complete a short, anonymous survey between March and December 2022. Using a mix of closed and open-ended questions, the survey gathered participants’ demographic information as well as their opinions and perceptions of shrimp sentience and welfare in relation to current farming practices.

The final sample included 300 adults. Of these:

• 74% were female
• 57% were from South Brazil
• 70% were between 18 and 34 years of age
• The majority had some level of undergraduate (53%) or graduate (36%) education
• Most listed their profession as student (31%) or agricultural sciences (14%)
• Most earned an income equivalent to one to two (21%), three to five (16%), or five to 10 (16%) minimum wages, while 14% had no income
• Most identified as Catholic (28%) or atheist (15%)

Nearly 40% of participants never consumed shrimp, while 21% consumed shrimp at least once a year. Those who never ate shrimp did so for ethical reasons (42%), because of personal taste (22%), or because they were veg*n (12%). Other reasons for not eating shrimp included cost, allergies, health, religion, and a lack of opportunity.

Most Brazilians Care About Shrimp Welfare

More than three-quarters (76%) of participants reported caring about shrimp welfare. Of these:

• 48% cared because the welfare of every living being matters regardless of sentience
• 22% cared because the welfare of sentient beings matters
• 13% cared because shrimp welfare is important for production and product quality
• 12% cared because shrimps play a crucial ecological role

Only a handful of participants (6%) reported not caring about shrimp welfare. Of these, 30% had never thought about it, 30% cited a lack of knowledge, and 15% pointed to limited contact with shrimps in their daily lives. A further 15% gave reasons the researchers coded as speciesist. For instance, participants made statements like “It is not an animal that I sympathize with” or “Despite being a vegan, I confess that I only care about the well-being of more complex animals (in general, phylum cordata). I don’t eat shrimp to avoid the suffering of other species.”

More males (82%) than females (71.5%) were concerned about shrimp welfare. Compared to all other occupations, concern was highest among participants who worked in agricultural sciences (98%).

Most Brazilians Believe Shrimps Can Feel

Negative Emotions

The majority (84%) of participants agreed that shrimps can feel pain, with 12% unsure. They highlighted injuries as a source of pain for shrimps, along with stress and mistreatment, harmful environmental conditions, and death.

Most participants (63%) also agreed that shrimps can feel negative emotions such as fear, while 27% were unsure. They believed that predation, feeling threatened, and fishing could cause fear. A few participants even stated that shrimps are always fearful when being farmed.

There were no significant associations between belief in shrimp pain and any demographic factors. Believing that shrimps can feel fear was linked to education level, socioeconomic status, profession, and how often participants ate shrimp. It was highest among those with graduate education (69%), those without income (77%), agricultural science professionals (83%), and those who ate shrimp at least once a year (71%).

Positive Emotions

Close to half (48%) of participants agreed that shrimps can feel positive emotions such as pleasure, while around 40% were unsure. They identified feeding, reproduction, and social interactions as pleasurable situations for shrimps.

Believing that shrimps can feel pleasure was associated with education level and how often participants ate shrimp. It was highest among those with graduate education (58%) and those who never ate shrimp (49.5%).

Most Brazilians Think Eyestalk Ablation Is Unacceptable

Roughly 82% of participants had never heard of eyestalk ablation. After being given the option to read more about it, around 81% found it unacceptable and 16% were unsure. The researchers illustrated participants’ reasons with a word cloud, which highlighted descriptions like “cruel,” “painful,” “suffering,” and “disrespectful to animal welfare.”

More females (85%) than males (70.5%) considered the practice unacceptable. Agreement was high among participants from Southeast Brazil (85%), those who never ate shrimp (89%), and biological and health science professionals (93%).

The majority (84%) of participants agreed that shrimps suffer from eyestalk ablation, with 14% unsure. Agreement was high among those who never ate shrimp (92%), those aged 55 or older (87%), and those who worked in languages, literature, and arts (100%).

Study Limitations

Compared to the Brazilian population overall, this study had a lower proportion of Catholics and higher proportions of young people, females, people from South Brazil, people with no or low income, and people with some level of undergraduate or graduate education. Thus, the study may not be representative of the country more broadly. Also, some demographic groups had relatively low sample sizes, including older people and those from North and Midwest Brazil, with some level of primary education, with higher income, and who eat shrimp more often. Results for these groups should therefore be interpreted with caution.

For Shrimp Advocates

For advocates working to improve the welfare of shrimps, the findings offer a solid foundation for building public support to end the practice of eyestalk ablation in particular. The study showed that most Brazilians believe that shrimps are capable of experiencing negative feelings and tend to view eyestalk ablation as unacceptable for animal welfare reasons, though they express more doubt when it comes to whether shrimps can feel positive emotions.

However, these opinions aren’t uniform. Instead, specific perceptions of shrimp sentience and welfare appear to differ based on demographic factors such as gender, age, region, education, socioeconomic status, occupation, and consumption frequency, but not religion. This suggests that advocacy messaging may need to be tailored to different audiences. Groups who are more likely to express skepticism about shrimp sentience or view eyestalk ablation as acceptable may benefit from more targeted outreach and education.

Finally, a lack of knowledge about shrimps and shrimp farming practices were common reasons for Brazilians not caring about shrimp welfare. Therefore, advocacy campaigns aimed at increasing public awareness of what these animals are capable of experiencing and how they’re treated in aquaculture systems could promote more humane practices and ultimately improve their welfare.