RSPCA suspends three west coast fish farms over allegations of animal abuse

Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality UK, said: “Here we have proof of over a dozen fish desperately struggling in their final moments of life – it begs the question: what else happens when no one is watching? No industry of this scale, causing mass suffering to millions of animals each year, should ever be left to its own devices and, evidently, the Scottish farmed salmon industry needs far greater scrutiny.

An RSPCA Assured spokesperson said: “We have launched an immediate investigation into these allegations and suspended membership of the three farms from the RSPCA Assured scheme, pending further investigation.

"This means they cannot currently market or sell any products under the RSPCA Assured label.

“As our enquiries are ongoing, we are unable to comment further at this time.

“Animal welfare is our absolute priority and we always take any complaints of poor welfare extremely seriously. We would urge anyone with any concerns about the welfare of animals on an RSPCA Assured certified farm to contact us straight away, without delay, so that we can immediately investigate and address any welfare
issues as a priority.”

Scottish Sea Farms’ head of fish health and welfare, Dr Ralph Bickerdike, said: “Last month, we identified unacceptable lapses in best husbandry practice at one of our farms, following which we took immediate remedial action.

“This included issuing further guidance on how best to humanely cull poorly fish without delay; guidance that we issued cross-company in August to ensure all farms conform to best practice, at all times.

“To make doubly sure that this strict protocol is understood and upheld, our fish health team is also delivering and supervising additional refresher training in each of our farming regions.”

Scottish Sea Farms confirmed that its other farms continue to be members of the RSPCA Assured scheme.

A spokesperson for Mowi Scotland said: "Mowi takes all allegations of animal welfare breaches seriously and we will be undertaking our own internal investigation of the footage supplied from RSPCA Assured. Our farms are regularly assessed as part of the RSPCA Assured scheme to ensure that the salmon in our care are raised to the RSPCA’s strict higher welfare standards. 

"In addition to working with the RSPCA, Mowi also works closely with the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), the world’s leading certification and labelling programme for responsibly farmed seafood. Currently 95 per cent of our farms in Scotland have ASC certification. Our work on welfare standards has been recognised by the ASC and Mowi was awarded ASC UK Retail Supplier of the Year in 2022 and ASC Brand of the Year in 2023.

"The Mowi site named, Loch Alsh, last harvested salmon in June 2024 and is not currently supplying any of our customers."

A spokesperson for Bakkafrost Scotland said: “Immediate remedial action was taken to address the matter raised, and Bakkafrost is co-operating fully with the relevant accrediting bodies.

“We are fully committed to the welfare and health of our fish as well as the natural environment, both of which are intrinsically linked and represent the basis of responsible salmon farming.”