Hundreds of protected areas are under pressure from Scotland’s massive deer herd. Most agree deer numbers must be controlled to protect the environment, but are split on what should be done.
Edinburgh University students were “interrogated” by police at their desks over posters featuring Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, prompting dozens to complain.
Unsafe levels of faecal bacteria were recorded at dozens of Scotland’s best beaches this summer. Swimmers and paddlers could be at risk, but officials insist water quality remains high.
Footage of farmed trout suffocating, haemorrhaging, and being beaten with batons in a slaughterhouse has prompted an official complaint to a government regulator.
Footage of farmed trout apparently suffocating, haemorrhaging, and being beaten with batons in a slaughterhouse has prompted an official complaint to a government regulator.
The video – seen by The Ferret – was obtained by Animal Equality UK and taken at an abattoir at Ardnish, Loch Ailort, in August.
The site is operated by SeaQureFarming Group Ltd which bought the trout farm in April this year.
Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality UK, said the footage – filmed over two days – shows fish exiting stunning machinery still conscious and “showing signs of pain” and trout being stunned and beaten, but not “adequately killed”.
The charity instructed law firm Advocates for Animals to submit a formal complaint to the Animal and Plant Health Agency Scotland, which investigates allegations of animal welfare abuse.
The letter alleges “serious welfare issues and potential breaches of law” which, Animal Equality claimed, have been “corroborated” by animal welfare experts.
In response, SeaQureFarming told The Ferret that its staff are “fully trained” in fish welfare and operate in line with its own standards and the RSPCA Assured scheme, which sets standards to protect animals.
This process is guaranteed to produce suffering en masse.
Dr Mark Borthwick
The alleged problems filmed at Ardnish included “fish seemingly cut before being stunned and rendered fully insensible” and trout “exiting the machine unstunned, as shown through sustained and coordinated thrashing”.
Animal Equality’s complaint said the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 should protect fish from “unnecessary suffering” but its footage reveals that trout were not being “spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering” during killing operations.
"These fish were violently handled, bludgeoned, thrown onto ice, and left to suffocate with devastating injuries in their final moments of life,” claimed Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality UK.
Dr Mark Borthwick is an agriculture specialist focusing on salmon farming, who was formerly head of research at the Aquatic Life Institute. After seeing the footage, he claimed that “something is very seriously wrong with this process”.
He told The Ferret: “The worker is seen clubbing most of the trout – the majority of which are fully conscious, moving around, gasping for air, and bleeding. This should be happening before the fish are exsanguinated [drained of blood]. This process is guaranteed to produce suffering en masse.”
Borthwick – who has advised on fish welfare at Holyrood and Westminster – added: “This production line should be halted and the machines adjusted so the animals are being correctly and consistently stunned.”
We take fish welfare extremely seriously and will review the material in full to assess the context and take any necessary action.
Stewart Graham, SeaQureFarming
Stewart Graham, of SeaQureFarming, said: “We understand this footage has been heavily edited and covers several hours of harvest operations over a period of many days.
“We take fish welfare extremely seriously and will review the material in full to assess the context and take any necessary action. We are always keen to make continual improvements to all our operations and support a beyond compliance approach.”
Edie Bowles, a solicitor at Advocates for Animals, said that recent Scottish Government guidance on the killing of farmed salmon welfare, which says effective stunning is required in order to comply with the law, would “apply equally to trout”.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency Scotland has started an investigation but declined to comment.
Main image: Paul Colley/iStock
Hundreds of protected areas are under pressure from Scotland’s massive deer herd. Most agree deer numbers must be controlled to protect the environment, but are split on what should be done.
Edinburgh University students were “interrogated” by police at their desks over posters featuring Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, prompting dozens to complain.
Unsafe levels of faecal bacteria were recorded at dozens of Scotland’s best beaches this summer. Swimmers and paddlers could be at risk, but officials insist water quality remains high.
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