Tilapia are the most widely farmed fish globally, yet pre-slaughter handling and killing practices often ignore growing evidence of fish pain and welfare, causing unnecessary suffering.
Tilapia welfare at slaughter receives minimal attention despite the enormous number of animals involved and mounting evidence of their capacity to suffer. Conventional slaughter methods including live chilling, suffocation in air, or bleed-out without prior stunning can result in consciousness lasting many minutes — potentially a prolonged period of distress. The science supporting fish sentience has advanced substantially, and welfare-conscious slaughter is now technically feasible at commercial scale. Percussive or electrical stunning immediately before killing is the current best practice, and some producers are adopting these methods under pressure from certifiers and major retailers. The welfare gain from eliminating painful pre-slaughter handling across this high-volume species would be enormous.