European eels are critically endangered and farmed in large numbers despite deep uncertainties about their welfare needs and sentience.
Eel farming presents a compound welfare and conservation problem: the species is critically endangered, all stock must be taken from the wild, farming conditions are poorly regulated, and welfare science specific to eels is inadequate. The combination of wild stock depletion and poor farmed welfare means eel consumption causes harm at both population and individual levels. Reducing eel consumption until sustainable and welfare-conscious farming systems exist would benefit both conservation and welfare goals.