European and Japanese eels face dual welfare threats: intensive aquaculture under poor conditions and wild capture during their critically endangered life stage.
Eel welfare is especially complex because the industry depends entirely on wild-caught juveniles. Glass eels endure capture, transport, and acclimatisation stress before intensive grow-out. In aquaculture systems, densities may exceed 100 kg per cubic metre. Slaughter by CO2 or ice slurry is widely considered inhumane. The critically endangered status of European eels adds a conservation dimension: consuming farmed eel perpetuates demand that drives wild capture. Both welfare and conservation arguments point toward avoiding eel products where alternatives exist.