Salmon farmers 'would welcome slaughter legislation'
Sector is confident that its standards are high
Legislation to protect fish welfare at slaughter would be welcomed by the aquaculture industry, a senior fish health expert has said.
Ronnie Soutar, head of veterinary services at Scottish Sea Farms, was speaking at a Scottish Parliamentary reception sponsored by Scottish National Party MSP Christine Grahame last night and organised by animal welfare campaigners who are calling for fish to have the same legal protection for humane slaughter as land animals.
Soutar and other fish professionals in the Scottish salmon sector are confident that the sector’s slaughter standards are high and wouldn’t require change if new legislation was introduced.
Independent certification
All Scottish salmon harvest stations are independently certified by RSPCA Assured. 100% of Scottish salmon must be stunned prior to slaughter, and all harvest stations have CCTV.
And Scottish salmon farming companies already have a legal duty to ensure the welfare of farm-raised fish under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.
Dr Iain Berrill, head of technical at trade body Salmon Scotland, said: “Scottish salmon farmers already meet the highest animal health and welfare standards anywhere on the globe.
“All farm-raised Scottish salmon are stunned and slaughtered in seconds, in harvest stations that are independently certified by the RSPCA and covered by CCTV to ensure that the highest humane slaughter standards are met or exceeded.
“The current animal welfare legislation is not species-specific, but we are happy to work with government to ensure any future legislation in this area is appropriate to our sector.”
Animal welfare groups calling for legislation argue that although most salmon farms in Scotland have signed up to voluntary accreditation schemes which include mandatory stunning prior to slaughter, private schemes have limited enforcement powers.
The Humane League UK, Animal Equality UK, and The Animal Law Foundation organised last night’s event. Animal Equality UK promotes a vegan diet and opposes salmon farming.
Sean Gifford, managing director of The Humane League UK, which has been leading the push for legislation, said: “It has been fantastic to get decision-makers round the table in Scotland, the heart of UK fish farming, and discuss the serious threats facing the welfare of farmed fish. Talk is good but action is what is needed, as Government committees have highlighted for decades the need to take fish welfare seriously. Fish can think and feel; and as fish farming continues to grow, failing to protect these sensitive animals becomes ever more unjustifiable.”
Removing ambiguity
Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality UK, said laws were essential to remove ambiguity in enforcing compliance in salmon abattoirs.
She pointed out that Animal Equality’s investigations in the past had uncovered fish having their gills cut while conscious or being clubbed or suffocating to death on boats.
“Without our documentation, I question whether these incidents would have been picked up or penalised,” said Penny.
Video delay
In 2021, Animal Equality released video footage from an undercover activist that showed fish being killed without being adequately stunned at a harvest station on Lewis. It was later revealed that the film had footage had been shot in 2019, and that Animal Equality had delayed release for more than a year.
“Typically, we release our investigative findings within a matter of weeks or months. In this case we were prepared to release in March (2020), then the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and we didn’t feel it was appropriate at the time that the pandemic was spreading for us to then share this publicly,” Penny told Fish Farming Expert in 2021.
