Waitrose announces major change to popular product as statement issued

Waitrose has promised to stop selling a popular product in its stores across the UK after shoppers mounted a pressure campaign. The supermarket said it will stop selling suffocated farmed prawns after campaigners said the underwater creatures feel pain.

Waitrose will instead ask suppliers to use electrical stunning on farmed prawns. The change will take effect by the end of next year and will impact all of Waitrose’s farmed prawns.

In a statement, the high-end supermarket said: “Animal welfare is a top priority for Waitrose, and since 2023 we’ve been working with our suppliers to push our industry-leading standards even higher by trialling electrical prawn stunning. We’ve committed to rolling this out to our entire supply chain by the end of next year, and this applies to all our farmed shrimp and prawns.”

Justine Audemard, head of negotiations at the International Council for Animal Welfare (ICAW), said electric stunning has been recognised as the most humane method for processing prawns and will significantly reduce the suffering they experience during slaughter.

She said: “There is growing recognition of the sentience of these animals, by the UK government and other governments in Europe. We know that when people are educated about what they go through, they are willing to pay a little more for a product that is respectful of animal welfare.”

Shrimp Welfare Project’s Krzysztof Wojtas said welfare policies are already in place for other farmed species and should be extended to prawns. He said the underwater critters have anatomical structures and react when pain is imposed on them.

A Co-op spokesperson said: “Animal welfare is very important to us, and all our fresh and frozen prawns are ablation-free. We continue to actively work with our suppliers to ultimately abolish eyestalk ablation in our supply chain.”

The Daily Express has contact Morrisons, Asda and Iceland, three of Waitrose’s rivals, for comment.