Salmon slaughter methods vary enormously in welfare outcomes. Many commercial operations use methods that cause prolonged suffering before death, but effective stunning technology now exists and is increasingly adopted.
Salmon slaughter represents one of the largest-scale acute welfare events involving individual vertebrate animals. Methods that induce prolonged aversive states before unconsciousness cause suffering that is now well documented through behavioral and neurophysiological indicators. The good news is that effective, rapid-stunning alternatives exist and are technically feasible at commercial scale. The challenge is regulatory enforcement and industry investment in adoption. Consumer and market pressure through certification has driven meaningful progress in Norway and Scotland.