Stingrays are cartilaginous fish with a growing body of evidence for pain perception and stress responses. Recreational fishing, trophy hunting at aggregation sites, and habitat degradation are the primary welfare concerns for wild populations.
At stingray feeding stations, habituation to hand-feeding disrupts natural prey-finding behaviour and may increase exposure to bacterial infection through repeated human contact. Recreational anglers who handle stingrays outside water for extended periods risk severe physiological stress and osmotic shock. Best-practice guidelines recommend in-water handling, barbless hooks, minimal air exposure, and avoiding aggregation feeding that concentrates animals unnaturally. Marine protected areas around known aggregation and pupping sites offer the most durable welfare and conservation benefit.