Carp are the world's most farmed fish by volume, yet welfare standards for their handling, transport, and slaughter lag far behind mammals and poultry, leaving billions of fish in conditions of potential suffering.
The welfare of farmed carp is largely invisible because fish welfare standards are poorly developed compared to terrestrial livestock. Evidence increasingly supports that carp experience stress and potentially pain. Air asphyxiation, where fish are removed from water until they die, can take many minutes and likely involves significant distress. Improved stocking densities, water quality management, and the adoption of percussive stunning before slaughter would substantially reduce suffering for billions of animals.