Catfish farming is economically important in both the American South and sub-Saharan Africa. Welfare conditions vary enormously between these contexts, and both raise important questions for welfare-conscious consumers.
Catfish welfare is largely absent from consumer consciousness despite significant production volumes in the US and growing production in Africa. The welfareof channel catfish in US pond systems is relatively good during rearing but harvest - involving pond draining, crowding and live transport - causes significant stress. In African production systems, welfare oversight is essentially non-existent and slaughter without stunning is universal. As African catfish production grows to meet protein demand, the opportunity to build welfare standards into industry development - rather than retrofitting them later - should not be missed. International development organisations working on food security should integrate welfare into their aquaculture programmes.