European and Asian eels are farmed in large quantities, yet receive almost no welfare attention despite evidence of sentience and significant welfare harms in commercial production systems.
Farmed eel welfare is doubly problematic: the industry rests on the capture of wild juvenile eels from a Critically Endangered European stock, and farming conditions are among the worst documented for any farmed fish. High-density recirculation systems cause chronic stress, skin damage, and behavioral suppression. Slaughter methods — including suffocation and live processing — are inconsistent with any humane slaughter standard. The near-total absence of welfare regulation for eels in most producing countries means that industry improvement depends almost entirely on consumer and retailer pressure. Reducing or eliminating eel consumption — particularly in the form of unagi sushi — has a direct impact on both eel welfare and the conservation of wild European and Japanese eel populations.