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A UK government watchdog has named two salmon farms in Scotland which have been reprimanded on animal welfare, following an appeal by The Ferret.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency disclosed it had sent warning letters to farms run by the Faroese firm, Bakkafrost, at Quarry Point on Loch Fyne, and West Strome on Loch Carron in 2025 and 2023.
This is believed to be the first time that the agency has identified salmon farms against which it has taken enforcement action. It initially insisted on keeping the names of the farms secret, but reversed its decision after The Ferret asked for a review under freedom of information law.
Some campaigners welcomed the agency’s change of heart, but said it should not have needed “a freedom of information battle” for the farms to be named. Others lambasted the agency for still being secretive about its regulatory action.
Bakkafrost described the warning letters as “historical”, and stated that fish welfare had been managed “appropriately”. The company remained committed to transparency and “high standards of fish health and welfare”, it said.
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The Ferret reported in February that APHA had investigated more than 100 complaints about animal welfare at salmon farms since 2020. This resulted in the agency sending just two warning letters, but it refused to give further details on the grounds that this would “prejudice the commercial interests” of companies involved.
We requested an internal review, arguing that transparency was the best way to ensure good regulation. We also suggested that our request should be handled under UK environmental information regulations, a parallel and slightly tougher regime than the UK freedom of information act.
APHA responded on 27 March, accepting our arguments. It revealed that one warning letter was sent to Bakkafrost on 4 November 2025 about its Quarry Point salmon farm on Loch Fyne in Argyll.
APHA said that “no further action” was required, and did not give any details of the farm’s alleged animal welfare shortfalls.
The campaign group, Animal Equality, had complained to APHA about Quarry Point in August 2025 with drone footage showing salmon being removed from a cage and seemingly suffocating to death. The Ferret also reported that the number of sea lice attached to salmon at the farm exceeded safety limits between April and June 2025.
APHA said it sent another warning letter to Bakkafrost on 18 December 2023 about the West Strome salmon farm on Loch Carron in Wester Ross. Again, it provided no detail and added that “no further action” was taken.
In March we reported on videos filmed at West Strome between July and December 2025 showing severely damaged salmon. Bakkafrost said it had conducted a “full review” with APHA, and the farm had been fallow in 2026.
According to Animal Equality’s director, Abigail Penny, groups and individuals had filed dozens of complaints about salmon farms in recent years. Salmon were allegedly “left blind and deformed, others beaten or suffocating to death”, she said.
“What exactly moves APHA to act, and when, remains a complete mystery, since they are not remotely forthcoming about it,” she added.
“And when the regulatory action turns out to be a mere warning letter – the most tepid form of reprimand imaginable – you have to wonder what it would actually take for APHA to treat this mass animal suffering as the emergency it is."
Penny highlighted the latest report in March from the Scottish Parliament’s rural affairs committee, which was very critical of the Scottish Government’s failure to make progress on “future-proofing” the salmon farming industry. “It's time to put the brakes on this deadly form of factory farming,” she said.
The Scottish Greens argued that it should not have needed a freedom of information battle to identify the two salmon farms that had been reprimanded. What had happened at West Strome was “particularly troubling”, said the party’s rural affairs spokesperson, Ariane Burgess.
She questioned whether warning letters resulted in “meaningful change” and called for all enforcement actions to be published “proactively and promptly”. The public, and the animals involved, “deserve better than a system where accountability only emerges piece by piece”, she said.
Bakkafrost confirmed that Quarry Point and West Strome had both received “a historical warning letter from previous years”. Warning letters were one of several “routine” tools available to regulators, said the company’s director, Anna Johansen.
“They do not routinely imply non‑compliance. They usually indicate that an issue or complaint was under review, and in these two cases found animal welfare to have been managed appropriately at the time, and that the regulator considered the cases closed.”
Johansen pointed out that salmon farming faced “unpredictable biological or environmental challenges”. When problems arose, “our teams respond quickly, working under veterinary oversight and in full engagement with regulators”, she said.
“We remain committed to transparency, continuous improvement, and high standards of fish health and welfare. We will continue to work constructively with regulators.”
You have to wonder what it would actually take for APHA to treat this mass animal suffering as the emergency it is. — Abigail Penny, Animal Equality
The Animal and Plant Health Agency declined to comment, suggesting that further inquiries should be made using freedom of information law. The Ferret has asked the agency to release copies of the written warnings sent to Quarry Point and West Strome.
The agency has previously insisted it was unable to comment on individual cases. "We treat all reports of suspected cases of poor welfare at salmon farms seriously and all are assessed by our vets,” said a spokesperson in February.
“We work closely with local authorities and the Scottish Government’s Fish Health Inspectorate to manage each case through our standard process of triage and assessment.”
The Ferret reported in August 2025 that files released after a six-year freedom of information battle revealed that the UK nuclear bomb store at Coulport on the Clyde had leaked radioactive waste into Loch Long.
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Rob has more than 40 years’ experience specialising in reporting on environmental issues. He has co-authored three books about nuclear power, produced radio and television programmes. He likes muckraking.
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