Aquaculture

Farmed Salmon Slaughter Welfare

Salmon slaughter methods vary significantly in welfare impact, with best practices offering rapid unconsciousness before killing.

Key Facts

Electrical stunning before slaughter can reliably produce immediate unconsciousness
Percussive stunning using a captive bolt is effective in skilled hands
Carbon dioxide killing is associated with prolonged distress and is being phased out
Live chilling in ice water is still common and causes prolonged conscious suffering

Welfare Considerations

Salmon slaughter without effective pre-stunning can involve extended suffering. Ice slurry killing leaves fish conscious and struggling for minutes to hours. Electrical stunning properly applied produces immediate unconsciousness before bleeding. The welfare gap between best and worst industry practices is substantial, with large proportions of salmon slaughtered in ways that cause avoidable suffering.

What You Can Do

Choose salmon from operations with verified stunning requirements
Advocate for mandatory pre-slaughter stunning in salmon aquaculture regulations
Support certification schemes that include slaughter welfare standards
Back research into salmon stunning efficacy and equipment development