On the 21st January 2025, representatives from the aquaculture industry and animal protection organisations united in the Scottish Parliament to discuss the disparity between the legal protections for farmed fish and farmed land animals, and what the Scottish government can do about it.
Whereas farmed land animals are protected by laws which detail how each species should be killed in a minimally painful manner, with those who break these laws becoming liable for prosecution, farmed fish have no equivalent protections.
This is despite consensus among scientists that fish can think and feel, including feel pain. An estimated 77 million fish are farmed and slaughtered in the UK annually, with the majority of these being Atlantic salmon farmed in Scotland. This makes fish the second largest group of farmed animals in the UK, after chickens.
The parliamentary reception, sponsored by Christine Grahame MSP, heard from organisations working to address this legal disparity in line with the Animal Welfare Committee’s updated Opinionand . also discussed the necessity for official guidance to support the industry to meet its legal obligations at every stage of farming and to enforce the law against those who break it.
Ronnie Soutar, Head of Veterinary Services at Scottish Sea Farms, said there was clear recognition within the sector that fish are sentient, and that legislation to protect their welfare at slaughter would be welcomed by the aquaculture industry.
The reception was jointly organised by The Humane League UK, Animal Equality UK and The Animal Law Foundation and supported by Compassion in World Farming, The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, OneKind, Animal Concern, and Labour Animal Welfare Society.
Although most salmon farms in Scotland have signed up to voluntary accreditation schemes which include mandatory stunning prior to slaughter, private schemes have limited enforcement powers, and charities argue they should not be solely responsible for safeguarding animal welfare.
Sean Gifford, Managing Director of The Humane League UK, said: “It has been fantastic to get decision-makers round the table in Scotland, the heart of UK fish farming, and discuss the serious threats facing the welfare of farmed fish. Talk is good but action is what is needed, as Government committees have highlighted for decades the need to take fish welfare seriously. Fish can think and feel; and as fish farming continues to grow, failing to protect these sensitive animals becomes ever more unjustifiable.”
Abigail Penny, Executive Director of Animal Equality UK, said: “These proposed laws are not only sensible, they are essential. Without clear guidelines, there will always be room for ambiguity in enforcing compliance in salmon abattoirs. This is not just a technicality; it’s a very real problem with potentially dire consequences. Animal Equality’s investigations have uncovered distressing instances of fish suffering unnecessarily, from having their gills cut while conscious, to being clubbed or suffocating to death on boats. Without our documentation, I question whether these incidents would have been picked up or penalised. We must put in place proper legal protections and we must make them count. We owe it to the animals.”
Edie Bowles, The Animal Law Foundation, said: “ We are honoured to be given the opportunity to meet with some key stakeholders involved in salmon farming in Scotland and to see the support the event has had with decision makers in Holyrood. Fish have some legal protections, but what is now being accepted is the lack of application of these protections in practice, this follows a recommendation from the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee that official guidance is needed to provide an explanation on what the legal protections mean to help the industry understand their obligations and where there are breaches of those obligations, it will assist enforcement bodies from bringing enforcement action.”
Natasha Boyland, Senior Research and Policy Advisor (Aquatic Animals) at Compassion in World Farming, said: “Yesterday’s event at the Scottish Parliament was a positive discussion on raising the bar for fish welfare. It is vital that farmed fish – sentient animals who can feel pain and suffer – are given protection at the time of slaughter. This is in line with the Animal Welfare Committee’s recommendations and has strong industry support. Robust legislation to protect fish is long overdue but we are encouraged to be moving in the right direction.”
Lorraine Platt, co-founder of Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, said: “It is deeply concerning that the tens of millions of farmed fish in the UK are not granted the same level of animal welfare protections as their terrestrial counterparts—despite being legally recognised as sentient beings.
We were pleased to join together with decision makers and key stakeholders on this critical issue at the home of Scottish Parliament to explore meaningful steps to ensure these fish receive the care and protections they so urgently need.”
Lorraine and Chris Platt Co-Founders CAWF
Bob Elliot, CEO of OneKind, said: “This event was timely, with the recent Parliamentary inquiry on salmon farming reporting persistently high mortality levels and gaps in accountability and enforcement. Despicable as these mortality rates are, welfare is about more than just preventing mortality. What is the welfare impact of keeping a species that navigates long migrations in the wild in small, barren cages? Millions of fish are suffering in sea cages. At the very least, they deserve the same legal protections as other farmed animals.”
Elena Edwards, Animal Concern, said: “The opportunity to engage with those involved in fish welfare in salmon farming was most welcome. Evidence has shown that the industry is miserably failing to ensure these fish do not suffer and that must change. Lip service and more research means nothing without adequate enforcement and an improvement to existing legislation. Following the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee recommendations, we look forward to seeing vast improvements to address the ongoing challenges, and ensure these fish are afforded the protection they need. Salmon must be treated as more than just “biomass” – they are sentient beings that should not suffer for the sake of profit.”
Mark Glover, Chair of Labour Animal Welfare Society (LAWS), said: “The failures in farmed fish welfare is an issue too often overlooked. This has to change. Politicians have the ability to introduce meaningful welfare improvements for these animals and it’s up to animal protection groups and public opinion to ensure this happens.
“In LAWS’s recent animal welfare manifesto, we called on legislators in Westminster and devolved parliaments to ‘introduce legal minimum requirements for farmed aquatic animals’ as part of a broader desire to ‘work with farmers to maintain high farm animal welfare’.
“The climate crisis, the impact of string jellyfish, the killing of seals are among the many environmental and animal welfare challenges that need to be addressed in relation to farming fish in Britain, and the reception at the Scottish Parliament was an important opportunity to begin this process and make the historic and overdue improvements that are urgently needed.”
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