Farmed eel welfare addresses the specific needs of these migratory fish including their unique physiology, the glass eel capture welfare issues and humane slaughter challenges.
Farmed eel welfare faces the fundamental tension between commercial demand and the conservation status of European eel populations, whose glass eels form the basis of the industry. Individual eel welfare concerns include stress and mortality during glass eel capture and transport, chronic stress in intensive farming environments, and inadequate stunning protocols that may leave eels conscious after slaughter. Eels have physiological properties including tolerance of hypoxia and ability to survive out of water that complicate both welfare assessment and humane killing. The sustainability and welfare issues in European eel farming are intertwined — addressing the conservation crisis through farming from bred stock would also address the wild capture welfare problems.