Fast Victory: WAITROSE commits to pre-slaughter electric stunning for farmed prawn.

By Justine Audemard @ 2025-02-09T23:50 (+3)

Title: Fast Victory: WAITROSE commits to pre-slaughter electric stunning for farmed prawns.

Waitrose, the upscale UK retailer, has published a time-bound commitment to implement electric stunning for all prawns in its global supply chain by the end of 2026.

That decision comes after negotiations with the International Council on Animal Welfare and will replace the controversial practice of leaving the animals to suffocate in ice slurry while still conscious.

This commitment will positively impact approximately 29 million prawns each year during slaughter, sparing them an average of three hours of disabling-equivalent pain (McKay & McAuliffe, 2024)

By publishing this commitment, Waitrose joins Tesco, Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer, and Ocado, all of which are already committed to pre-slaughter electric stunning.

Scale: UK
Timeline: full implementation by the end of 2026.

Who: The International Council For Animal Welfare (ICAW)

Background: Waitrose was one of the first supermarkets to phase out eyestalk ablation for prawns by the end of 2023. They were currently working on trialing electric stunning without having made a clear time bound commitment.

Successful tactics: ICAW engaged with Waitrose through corporate outreach and campaign tactics. We shared a campaign website and our plan to communicate more publicly about the lack of time bound commitment. Waitrose published the commitment a few hours after the campaign website was shared.

Additional info: reach out to jaudemard@i-caw.org for more information.