By International Council for Animal Welfare
The German discounter commits to electrical stunning or similarly effective methods for all farmed prawns worldwide by 2035 — the broadest scope of any retailer commitment to date
Aldi Süd has committed to implementing electrical stunning or similarly effective methods before slaughter for all farmed prawns by 2035, and to ending eyestalk ablation across its supply chain by 2030. The commitment applies to all Aldi Süd markets worldwide, including Europe, the USA and Australia.
With Aldi Süd‘s announcement, every one of the eleven major UK supermarkets has now set a time-bound commitment on prawn welfare. What began with Waitrose, M&S and Tesco has become a new baseline across UK grocery — though the timelines for full implementation vary significantly, with some retailers targeting 2026 and Aldi Süd’s global pledge extending to 2035.
Why Prawns
Prawns are the most consumed farmed animal in the UK — over 1.2 billion individuals sold each year, more than chickens. Research from the London School of Economics and the University of Stirling has established that prawns are sentient and capable of feeling pain. The UK government recognized crustaceans as sentient beings under the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022.
Two standard industry practices have come under particular scrutiny. In prawn hatcheries, breeding females routinely have one eyestalk cut off while alive to stimulate egg production. At slaughter, prawns are immersed in ice-water baths — a method that research suggests often fails to render them unconscious, leaving animals to suffocate over prolonged periods. Electrical stunning offers an alternative: it renders prawns unconscious within seconds, and the equipment is commercially available and already being rolled out across UK supply chains.
Aldi: From Holdout to the Broadest Commitment
Aldi Süd was the last of the eleven major UK supermarkets to set a timeline. But the scope of its pledge goes well beyond the UK: it is the first retailer to commit across all its global markets in a single announcement. Aldi Süd has also committed to annual public progress reporting on its transition.
That distinction matters because prawn welfare commitments have so far largely been a market-by-market affair. Lidl, for instance — also a German-headquartered discounter with global operations — has so far only committed to introducing electrical stunning for prawns sold in Great Britain. It has not set a timeline for its operations in Germany, France or elsewhere in Europe. Aldi Süd’s global approach sets a different precedent.
Concern for Prawn Welfare Rapidly Growing
In mid-2024, not a single major UK supermarket had a firm timeline on prawn stunning methods. The commitments then came in quick succession:
- 2024: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Ocado.
- 2025: Waitrose, Co-op, Morrisons, Iceland.
- 2026: Asda, Lidl GB, Aldi Süd.
Several retailers are already implementing changes. Lidl GB reports its core own-brand range has been ablation-free since January 2026. Ocado has reported completing its transition to electrical stunning. The momentum has also spread internationally, with Jumbo in the Netherlands and Intermarché in France committing in 2025.
“With Aldi Süd’s commitment, every major UK supermarket has now drawn a line on prawn welfare. We believe the global scale of this pledge will make effective electrical stunning the norm well beyond Europe”, Jonas Becker, Head of Invertebrate Welfare, International Council for Animal Welfare.
Background
In late 2025, the International Council for Animal Welfare (ICAW) published an investigation into conditions on prawn farms linked to Aldi’s supply chain. The investigation was shared widely and reached hundreds of thousands of people. ICAW organized protests at Aldi‘s UK headquarters in Atherstone and its German headquarters in Essen.
Aldi had previously acknowledged that electrical stunning is considered best practice for prawns but had not committed to a timeline.
Aldi South policy in verbatim (Fish and Seafood Factsheet, page 8): The ALDI SOUTH Group is investing in an industry-led research project to assess the effectiveness of electrical stunning and other potentially higher-welfare methods for warm-water shrimp. This project will conclude in 2028, and from this date ALDI will start transitioning to electrical stunning or other measures confirmed by the study for its own-brand warm-water shrimp, with the aim of completion by 2035. We are committed to transparently report annually on the implementation status of preslaughter stunning methods from 2028 onwards.
https://sustainability.aldisouthgroup.com/files/fish-and-seafood-factsheet
About ICAW
The International Council for Animal Welfare is a registered nonprofit born from a coalition of animal welfare advocacy professionals from around the globe, uniting decades of expertise to reduce as much animal suffering as possible.
(Photo by CSIRO, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35474696)
