INVESTIGATION: Fish Killed While Fully Conscious in Scottish Salmon Slaughterhouse
Animal Equality has released undercover footage from a slaughter facility operated by The Scottish Salmon Company, a supplier of major UK supermarkets, as well as numerous international retailers, including in the US. The pioneering footage, shot by an undercover investigator, is the first of its kind to be released in the UK and shows the brutal nature in which farmed salmon are killed.
THE DETAILS: The investigation, published exclusively by The Times (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/waitrose-salmon-supplier-scottish-salmon-company-let-fish-die-on-the-floor-9p30lw78w), has revealed several extremely serious animal welfare abuses, including a significant number of fish who were killed while fully conscious. The footage also detailed:
- Numerous animals displaying consciousness after failure to stun, evidenced by motions such as flapping, wriggling, and gasping.
- Salmon’s gills cut without prior stunning, causing pain, and/or salmon being re-stunned with a club after their gills were cut, causing blood to spray from their gills.
- Salmon being clubbed multiple times, in some instances as many as seven times per animal.
- Salmon’s gills torn with workers’ fingers, rather than a scalpel.
- Animals falling or being thrown to the floor and left to suffocate.
WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING: “This footage is alarming. A significant number of salmon are clearly conscious when their gills are cut, which could result in extreme pain for as long as seven minutes.” Mark Borthwick, Head of Research at the Aquatic Life Institute
CELEBRITY SUPPORT: Alexander Gould, who voiced Nemo, the much-loved animated clownfish in Disney’s blockbuster movie Finding Nemo, has also shown his support for the campaign by narrating Animal Equality’s video of the investigation findings.
BACKGROUND: Up to 77 million fish are raised and slaughtered in the UK each year—that’s more than two animals killed per second. The Scottish Salmon Company supplies major supermarket chains Waitrose and Co-op, as well as high-end retailers and premium hotels and restaurants across the UK. It also exports its products to over 20 countries around the world, including significant trade deals in place with Japanese and the US markets.
WHAT WE’RE SAYING: “The brutal footage released by our team shows the heartbreaking truth about commercial fishing—an industry whose practices deliver tremendous suffering to billions of fish every year. Companies like the Scottish Salmon Company aren’t unique in their cruelty, and this investigation shows that we have much work to do in order to establish even basic protections for farmed aquatic animals. It’s the least these sensitive animals deserve.” Sharon Núñez, President of Animal Equality.
WHAT WE’RE DOING NEXT: Animal Equality in the UK has coordinated an open letter (https://animalequality.org.uk/app/uploads/2021/02/Animal-Equality-UK-Aquatic-Animals-Open-Letter.pdf) addressed to the country’s ministers, which has been signed by 70 world-leading aquatic animal specialists, welfare academics, and animal protection organizations. Concerned by the investigation’s findings, signatories are calling for specific and meaningful protections to be put in place for fish and other aquatic animals at the time of death, as well as legal training requirements and frequent on-site inspections.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Every single day, farmed aquatic animals suffer on farms and in slaughterhouses like those used by The Scottish Salmon Company. Unfortunately, unlike pigs, cows, and chickens, fish do not have even basic protections in the food production industry. For example in the US, they are not even covered by the Humane Slaughter Act. That needs to change, and we are working to make that happen. In the meantime, if you’re concerned by this footage, you can act immediately by keeping fish off your plate. Doing so is not only an act of compassion but also lets the fish industry know that this sort of cruelty and abuse will not be tolerated. Save a life and spare billions from suffering—say no to eating fish.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! SWITCH TO PLANT-BASED TODAY: https://loveveg.com/
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Transcript (English — en)
the uk
is one of the world's largest finfish
producers raising and killing up to 77
million of these animals
every single year scientists recognize
that fish feel pleasure and pain
just like cats dogs chickens and cows
despite this they are given few legal
[Music]
protections
[Music]
animal equality went undercover in a
scottish salmon company slaughterhouse
to find out what this means in practice
for farmed aquatic animals
the scottish salmon company is one of
the largest salmon producers in europe
confining around 15 million fish every
single year
and exporting to 26 countries the
slaughter processes we filmed here
cause prolonged pain for many animals
fish's bodies are so
sensitive that what would feel like a
light touch to humans
is painful for them on top of this
despite
a stunning device being in place in this
facility it is often ineffective
many animals displayed signs of
consciousness such as moving and
flapping
at the time of slaughter
their gills were cut while they were
still conscious
workers were even seen ripping some
salmon skills with their fingers
this causes extreme pain for conscious
fish
who could be in agony for several
minutes as a result there
appears to be confusion among workers as
conscious fish are clubbed multiple
times
which is sometimes used to stun fish
after their gills have been cut stunning
of course
should take place prior this shows the
desperate need for these animals to be
protected in law
some fish were even still moving after
passing through the final slaughter
stage
with so many animals entering the
slaughterhouse the chute
can become too full causing many salmon
to fall to the floor
left to suffocate their painful death is
even more drawn out
such careless slaughter methods would be
illegal if they were happening to
animals armed on land in the uk
that is why we are urging uk governments
to put in place meaningful
specific protections for aquatic animals
our ask which is being supported by
world
leading experts would spare millions of
animals from enduring similar suffering
to this
don't forget about fish please keep them
off your plate