Carp are the most farmed fish by volume globally, yet receive far less welfare attention than mammals. Improving their farming conditions could reduce suffering for billions of individual animals.
The sheer scale of carp farming means that welfare improvements would affect more individuals than almost any other animal intervention. Current practices often involve overcrowding, poor water quality, injury during handling, and painful slaughter methods. Stunning before slaughter using electrical or percussive methods is not widely adopted for carp. Research shows that carp exhibit stress responses measurably reduced by better water quality, lower densities, and careful handling. Given the number of animals involved, even small per-animal welfare improvements translate to enormous aggregate benefits.