Crustacean Welfare Policy 2025 Crustacean Welfare is a priority for our business. We are committed to working with all our suppliers to ensure the health and well-being of all crustaceans. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 recognises in law that crustaceans are sentient beings and that the ways in which we treat them may have an adverse effect on their welfare. We have a direct impact on the welfare of crabs, lobsters, crawfish, prawns and nephrops by the way we handle them, the conditions in which we keep them, and the way in which we transport them. We are working to ensure that all our suppliers have policies in place to the effect that all live shellfish will be reared, handled, transported and slaughtered under conditions of minimum stress, with minimal environmental impact and with full regard to animal welfare. Lobsters & Crabs We continue to comply with the Seafish Code of Practice for the Welfare of Crabs, Lobsters, Crawfish and Nephrops. Following their guidance, we have developed a Crustacean Handling Guide for internal use, which covers the safe handling of crabs and lobsters within our depots and transportation to customers. All our depots that handle live crustaceans will be fully trained by the end of December 2025, with refresher training to occur annually. Throughout 2024-2025, we introduced an animal welfare questionnaire as part of our supplier approval procedure. This has helped us to gather additional information about crustacean welfare practices in our supply chain, and we have identified areas for improvement in which we will act upon in 2025-2026. Prawn & Shrimps We are working towards the end of the practice of eye ablation in prawn and shrimp farming. Throughout 2025- 2026, we will be reviewing the extent of this practice within our supply chain and our current sourcing policies. We will also encourage our suppliers of farmed prawns and shrimp to adopt stunning prior to dispatch as their standard practice. As part of our commitment to industry change, we have introduced a limited selection of non-ablated prawns to our product range. By offering these alternatives, we aim to demonstrate that sustainable and humane seafood sourcing is not only possible but also commercially viable. We will continue to work closely with Seafish and Crustacean Compassion to raise awareness and improve crustacean welfare standards in our own operations and supply chain. Direct Seafoods do not undertake the stunning or dispatch of live crustaceans directly. However, we are committed to advancing higher welfare standards within our supply chain. We expect and encourage our suppliers to adopt effective and humane practices, including percussive electrical stunning prior to dispatch, and will work in partnership with them to support the implementation of these methods. Throughout 2025-2026, we will be in close contact with all our customers who purchase live lobsters and crabs, offering learning materials and training on decapod crustacean welfare, humane handling and dispatch methods. -1- V3CWP0825
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