Out of curiosity, do you draw the line at other animals? Is it unethical to torture animals? Mammals? If you could understand what whales say to each other would that make you reconsider your position?

I tend to not worry much about shrimp welfare, I think it's fine/reasonable to use insecticide (etc), but I also wouldn't make a habit of torturing ants or something

Aside from the shrimp question, I would argue that one shouldn't torture ants because the activity is corrosive to the human spirit, or at least nudges one towards antisocial behaviors. Behavior like that is suggestive that a person might treat higher existences with a similar level of callousness or sadism.

The last thing any person would want to discover, I hope, is that they really enjoy torturing other living creatures. At the point where you've determined someone feels that way, the best you can probably do is try to set them straight and hope they understand why it's not appropriate behavior.

It is tricky to evaluate in a broader context though - for example dolphins have been observed engaging in behavior that resembles torturing other animals for fun. So maybe this sort of thing is actually just ingrained in the nature of all near-sentient and sentient beings. I'd prefer if it weren't.