Matthew Chalmers
The first ever parliamentary reception focused on fish welfare has been held at Westminster.
Leading animal charities met with politicians, celebrities and industry spokespeople in support of strengthening legal protections for farmed fish at slaughter.
The event was hosted by Lord Trees and sponsored by The Humane League UK, RSPCA, Compassion in World Farming, The Soil Association and The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation.
Attendees discussed the need to give fish stronger legal protections at slaughter, which they are currently denied. This is despite the fact that all farmed land animals have these protections, an injustice that THL UK has been fighting to change with our Forgotten Fish Campaign.
The science is settled: fish can feel pain. They deserve legal protections, and optional voluntary schemes are not enough to protect the welfare of millions of farmed salmon and trout in the UK.
Around fifty five million farmed fish are slaughtered in the UK each year, which is more than double the number of pigs, sheep and cattle combined. Countries like Norway and Germany already have laws that protect fish at slaughter.
Celebs in attendance included chef Anthony Worral-Thompson, TV vet and campaigner Marc Abraham and artist Isabella Cotier.
Speeches were made by Lord Trees, Shadow Defra Minister Daniel Zeichner, RSPCA Senior Scientific Officer Sean Black and Ronnie Soutar, Head of Veterinary Services at Scottish Sea Farms. All agreed that fish needed better protection from the law.
With the Animal Welfare Committee opinion on the slaughter of farmed fish expected to be published soon, all eyes will be on the Government’s response. It is likely that the Animal Welfare Committee will recommend farmed fish be given stronger legal protections at slaughter.
It is essential that the government follows through on any recommendations made by the Committee to give fish stronger protections. We will be holding them to account to ensure that they do so. Find out more about our campaign here.
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