Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S.A.-based nonprofit Mercy for Animals has called out leading U.K. supermarkets, including Asda, Lidl, Aldi, Morrisons, Co-op, Iceland, and Waitrose, for sourcing prawns from farms using practices considered to be inhumane, including eyestalk ablation and ice-slurry slaughter.
Eyestalk ablation involves removing one or two of the eyes of a female shrimp, which encourages her to lay eggs faster than she would otherwise. The practice has come under increased scrutiny, with recent research suggesting that the aquaculture industry can function successfully without ablation.
Ice-slurry slaughter immobilizes shrimp in freezing temperatures before harvesting. Though eyestalk ablation has received more press attention, both practices may be questionable under the UK’s Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act of 2022, which officially recognizes prawns as capable of feeling and suffering pain, the nonprofit said.
A number of U.K. supermarkets contacted by SeafoodSource said they were looking into the issue.
“Animal welfare is very important to us, and we are actively working with our suppliers to reduce, and ultimately abolish, eyestalk ablation in our supply chain," a Co-op spokesperson told SeafoodSource.
A spokesperson for Waitrose said ...
