Trout slaughter welfare requires attention to both the stunning method and pre-slaughter handling, with percussive and electrical stunning offering the best current options.
Trout slaughter welfare depends on the reliability and humaneness of the stunning method used. Ice slurry — still widely used — involves conscious chilling that takes several distressing minutes. Percussive and electrical stunning achieve more rapid unconsciousness when properly applied, but both require careful calibration and skilled application. The welfare case for mandatory effective stunning before trout slaughter is equivalent to that for any other vertebrate animal whose sentience is not in question.