United Kingdom-based cooperative supermarket Co-op has ended the use of eyestalk ablation in its farmed prawns and committed to adopting electrical stunning as a humane harvesting method by the end of 2027. This makes Co-op the latest U.K. retail chain to commit to ending practices that many view as inhumane after pressure from animal rights groups.
The two practices that have come under the most fire from activists are eyestalk ablation and ice slurry slaughter. Eyestalk ablation involves cutting the eyes off female prawns to provoke egg production. In recent years, researchers have demonstrated that this process may not be necessary, or even beneficial, for egg production.
The other practice is ice slurry slaughter, which slowly suffocates prawns in ice water during harvesting. Co-op will transition to using a more humane practice, which electrically stuns prawns before slaughter, rendering them unconscious and unable to feel pain.
Co-op has been working to eliminate eyestalk ablation from its supply chain since 2022, when 72 percent of their female prawns were non-ablated. By 2023, that number had reached 82 percent; now, the company says its supply chain is 100 percent free from eyestalk ablation. The supermarket chain recently introduced new welfare standards that ban the use of ice slurry slaughter, and which laid out a plan for adopting electrical stunning throughout its supplier farms.
Prawns were recognized as sentient by the U.K. government in 2021, after research suggested that the animals are capable of feeling pain and distress.
The International Council for Animal Welfare (ICAW), one of the groups pushing to end the controversial practices, celebrated Co-op’s announcement, with the organization’s Head of Invertibrate Welfare Policy, Jonas Becker, saying “this is an important commitment that could set new standards in the industry.”
Justine Audemard, Head Negotiations for the ICAW, said that “some supermarkets are banning ablated and suffocated prawns from their shelves. Unfortunately, other retailers such as Iceland and Morrison’s have stayed silent – which raises the question of how serious they take their commitment to animal welfare.”
Surveys have shown that many consumers support more humane harvesting practices for seafood, and more retailers are adopting stringent animal welfare standards. As SeafoodSource recently reported, however, bringing these standards into reality will require the industry to collaborate in new and challenging ways.
