Have you ever been to a fish market? Do you enjoy the site of helpless salmon lying outside their tank, gasping for air before their gruelling death? Or what about when you see a fish beheaded? . . . chop, Chop, CHOP! And finally the head falls off. The gills still move. You see that fish body flopping around wondering, does it feel pain? It’s not easy to answer this question, yet the answer is critical if salmon welfare is to improve in farms.

The basis of animal welfare concerns revolve around multiple features, one including the “freedom from pain” (EFSA,2008). Improving farmed salmon welfare includes mitigating the pain experienced by salmon. If salmon do not feel pain, then any movement to improve management conditions on farming systems would be impaired since the farming system would not be violating a fundamental welfare guideline: the freedom from pain. Answering the question on pain perception in salmon will help emphasize the greater need for salmon welfare.

Let’s see what science has to tell us on the ability of fish to feel pain. . .