Freshwater fish — including carp, catfish, tilapia, and trout — are farmed and caught in enormous numbers. Evidence for their sentience is strong, yet welfare protections remain minimal in most jurisdictions.
Freshwater fish are sentient animals capable of experiencing pain, fear, and chronic stress, yet they receive less welfare protection than almost any other farmed animal. Key welfare challenges include overcrowding, poor water quality, disease outbreaks, and inhumane slaughter by suffocation or ice-water immersion. Welfare science has identified effective interventions — adequate dissolved oxygen, species-appropriate stocking densities, enrichment for cognitively active species like trout, and electrical or percussive stunning at slaughter. Consumer pressure and regulatory reform are both needed to drive adoption of these standards.