Common carp is the world's most produced freshwater farmed fish by volume, yet it receives little welfare attention compared to salmon. Understanding carp welfare is essential for improving billions of lives.
Common carp occupy an almost invisible space in animal welfare discourse despite being the most numerically significant farmed fish species in the world. Production systems range from extensive low-density pond culture with relatively low stress to intensive crowded systems where oxygen depletion, disease and handling stress cause significant suffering. Christmas live carp traditions in Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary - where fish are purchased alive, often kept in bathtubs for days, and killed at home - represent a particular welfare problem, as home slaughter is rarely humane. Welfare improvements for carp require both producer-side standards and consumer education.