Once again, experts tell the Government that fishes need more protection

Do farmed fish need legal protection?

We like to think that, in the UK, animals raised for food are well cared for and protected by the law. Sadly, this often isn’t the case and fishes fare even worse than other farmed animals when it comes to legal protection.

Approximately 55 million fishes are slaughtered each year in the UK. Despite this, there is little government oversight of their welfare and no legal provisions detailing how to minimise suffering at slaughter. Most welfare monitoring is carried out by voluntary schemes run by the fish farming industry and fish slaughter is not monitored by CCTV, despite claims by the Government that they introduced CCTV to “all slaughterhouses”.

Revising the law is crucial for fishes. Norway, the biggest producer of farmed salmon in the world already has a law mandating the pre-slaughter stunning of farmed fish. The UK is falling behind. Yet the Government have been able to use the excuse of a lack of insight to stall. This is where the AWC’s opinion comes in.

What is the AWC's Opinion?

The Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) is a part of Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) and is made up of specialists who advise Defra and the Scottish and Welsh Governments on animal welfare. They are the experts who help inform Government policies on animal welfare.

The AWC opinion is a report, gathering together evidence from scientists, industry experts, stakeholders, and organisations such as ourselves. The AWC also visited fish farms, to see firsthand the experience of these animals. You can find out more about the AWC's Opinion here.

Released earlier this week, the report states that:

• Government should legislate to ensure that all farmed fish are stunned (made unconscious) before killing and that stunning takes place in water or immediately after removal from water.
• Government should ensure that protections for the welfare of farmed fish during their killing and related operations are included in UK legislation. This legislation should be easily changeable to take account of future research and growing knowledge on fish welfare.
• Government must ensure that any legislation related to protecting farmed fish also includes inspections, so that non-compliance can be identified.
• The power to enforce, and punish those who fail to comply with the legislation, should be made possible.
• Government should require CCTV to be used at farmed fish slaughter sites, with recordings kept for 90 days and available to inspectors.
• The use of slow chilling in iced water, asphyxiation, CO2 saturated water, and cutting of gills in conscious fish are all considered inhumane and should be illegal for the killing of farmed fish.

These are just some of the recommendations from the report. It’s music to our ears. We’ve been fighting to protect forgotten fish who suffer horrifically, especially at slaughter.

Previously, the Scottish Government has suggested that it considers the welfare of fish at slaughter to be important, but it cannot act until the recommendations of the AWC have been released. Now, there’s no excuse.

What you can do

Want to help fishes get the protections they deserve? Add your name to pressure the Government. Say yes to receive our emails and you’ll get regular updates on how you can help fishes, and other animals raised for food.