Freshwater eels including Japanese and American eels are farmed extensively but face significant welfare challenges. Their sensitivity to handling, water quality, and slaughter methods requires urgent attention.
Freshwater eel aquaculture presents severe welfare challenges. Because eel farming relies on wild-caught glass eels, the industry perpetuates harm to wild populations while also creating welfare problems in captivity. In intensive pond and tank systems, high densities cause chronic stress, aggression, and disease. Eels' skin respiration allows them to survive prolonged air exposure — a characteristic exploited in traditional cuisine practices that involve live handling and preparation, causing extended suffering. The scientific consensus that fish are sentient beings capable of experiencing pain applies fully to eels. Electrical stunning produces rapid insensibility and is the most humane available method, but its adoption is inconsistent. Consumer choices and regulatory pressure are the primary levers for improvement.