Enables stearoyl-CoA 9-desaturase activity. Predicted to be involved in lipid metabolic process. Predicted to act upstream of or within fatty acid biosynthetic process. Predicted to be located in membrane. Is expressed in several structures, including adrenal gland; genitourinary system; nervous system; and retina. Orthologous to human FADS2 (fatty acid desaturase 2). [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Apr 2022]