Anti-salmon farming activist gears up for court fight over sites ban

Anti-salmon farming activist Don Staniford has been allowed to drop some parts of an undertaking he gave to a court to stay away from sites operated by Scottish Sea Farms (SSF).

Staniford gave the temporary undertaking to Oban Sheriff Court in November 2023 after SSF applied for an interdict (injunction) to prevent him covertly visiting its marine sites and shore facilities.

The undertaking was made after SSF agreed to pause its proceedings until Staniford’s appeal against an interdict already granted to salmon farmer Mowi Scotland had been concluded.

For his part, Staniford told SFF and the court that he would abide by the same conditions that had been imposed on him by the Mowi interdict.

See me in court

Some of those conditions, including a ban from encroaching within 15 metres of Mowi’s farms and buildings, were given up by Mowi during the appeal, although a ban on Staniford climbing on to fish pens remains in place.

The changes applied only to the Mowi interdict, which meant that the wider limitations still applied to Staniford’s undertaking to stay away from SSF sites. He has now successfully applied to Oban Sheriff Court to have the conditions of the undertaking changed so that they mirror those of Mowi’s revised interdict.

“If Scottish Sea Farms want to enforce a permanent injunction - along the lines of Mowi’s or even more restrictive - then they will have to fight me in open court. I look forward to debating the public’s right to know what’s really going on inside RSPCA Assured salmon farms and the law around chattel trespass.”

SSF has in the past said that it intended to continue its case against Staniford once legal action between Mowi and the activist had ended, which has now happened. In November, the Court of Session rejected Staniford’s bid for a second appeal, exhausting his legal options against Mowi's interdict.