Animal experts and academics have recommended mandatory CCTV for all fish slaughterhouses in Scotland and new legislation to ensure staff are “trained and aware of their duty of care”, to improve animal welfare.
A report by the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) also argues that fish must be stunned before slaughter and killed before regaining consciousness.
Up to 77 million farmed fish are slaughtered each year in the UK and concerns have been raised over serious welfare abuses. There are no legal provisions detailing how to minimise pain for fish at the point of slaughter.
Fish at one Scottish abattoir had their gills cut while still conscious and were clubbed by workers and left to asphyxiate on the ground, as revealed last year by The Ferret.
The AWC report has been welcomed by animal welfare groups which are urging the Scottish Government to legislate to ensure legal protections for farmed fish at slaughter.
The AWC opinion on the Welfare of Farmed Fish at the Time of Killing was published last week by the Scottish Government. The expert group advises the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and the Scottish and Welsh governments on animal welfare.
Its new report says the government must legislate to ensure all employees involved with slaughter or killing fish, “must be trained, competent and aware of their duty of care”.
The AWC also recommends legislation to ensure “all farmed fish are stunned before killing using stun/kill methods or that killing takes place before consciousness is regained”.
The report was welcomed by Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality UK, who said the committee’s guidance “underscores what aquatic animal experts and advocates have known for some time now”.
She argued that “for far too long farmed fish have been forgotten in law”, adding that “much more rigorous standards are needed to better protect the millions of fish slaughtered each year”.
Penny told The Ferret: “We are pleased to see that a number of our suggestions have been taken seriously, including the need for mandatory CCTV in fish abattoirs, increased inspections, stunning at slaughter, and enhanced transparency around on-farm mortalities. Now is the time for the government to act and enact new legislation – there is no time to waste.”
Naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham claimed that the UK Government “ cares so little for fish that they don’t even have proper legal protections at slaughter – the most terrifying moment in their lives”.
He added: “Fish are beautiful and interesting animals who can feel pleasure and pain. Leaving their welfare in the hands of the industry can’t continue – they must get the legal protections they deserve.”
Fish are beautiful and interesting animals who can feel pleasure and pain. Leaving their welfare in the hands of the industry can’t continue – they must get the legal protections they deserve.
Naturalist and TV presenter, Chris Packham.
Cordelia Britton, head of programs at The Humane League UK, also backed the AWC report. “We now kill more fish than pigs, cows, sheep, turkeys, and ducks combined,” she said.
Dr Iain Berrill, head of technical at Salmon Scotland, which represents Scotland’s farmed salmon industry, said Scottish salmon farmers “already meet the highest animal health and welfare standards anywhere on the globe”.
He added: “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 humane slaughter standards are met or exceeded.
“We welcome publication of the animal welfare committee’s report, and we will continue to support them and others to ensure any legislation is appropriate to our sector.”
Inspections at fish slaughterhouses by a government agency are now a mandatory requirement in Scotland. The Animal, Plant and Health Agency (APHA) – a UK Government agency responsible for safeguarding the health of animals – told The Ferret last year that Scottish salmon firms slaughtering fish would be monitored from 1 February 2022.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government takes the welfare of all farmed animals very seriously. We thank the UK Animal Welfare Committee for this report and will carefully consider the recommendations, engaging our stakeholders and the other UK administrations.”
Photo credit: iStock and JoeDunckley
