European eels are critically endangered, yet continue to be farmed and consumed at significant scale — raising both conservation and welfare concerns simultaneously.
Farmed eel welfare is complicated by the species biology: because they cannot reproduce in captivity, every farmed eel began life as a wild-caught juvenile. This creates a direct link between consumption and pressure on critically endangered wild populations, in addition to the welfare concerns of farming itself. Slaughter practices — live salting, live smoking — cause significant suffering. The most welfare-protective choice is to eliminate eel consumption given both welfare and conservation concerns.