The first UK parliamentary roundtable event to discuss fish welfare at the time of killing has taken place.
The session was co-ordinated by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare last week, and discussed “increasing welfare protections for farmed fish”.
The closed event, attended by members from Defra, the Animal Welfare Committee and MPs, laid the groundwork for future legislative action by discussing immediate issues facing the industry and concerns from welfare advocates.
The UK slaughters up to 77 million fish per year. With growing recognition that fish, cephalopods and decapods are able to experience pleasure and pain, this session started the process of bringing in more protections for aquatic animals.
“Fish are currently being failed by the UK legal system,” said Jenny Canham, campaigns and public affairs specialist at Animal Equality UK. “The scientific community agrees that fish feel pain and can suffer, so it’s shocking that they receive such little regard in law. There really is no logical reason for this.”
The session discussed the current state of legislative affairs for fish, the need for increased oversight and enforcement of laws, the role of certification schemes and current standards in practice.
The event was chaired by working peer Lord Trees, former President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and speakers included industry figures, veterinarians and animal advocates.
“Whilst the aquaculture industry itself has embraced external assurance schemes provided by the RSPCA and major retailers, there is an anomaly in that fish are not provided with the same levels of legal welfare protection as terrestrial farmed animals,” said Lord Trees.
“I am pleased to be hosting this first parliamentary meeting on this important subject. It provides an opportunity for discussion between welfare bodies, the industry, parliamentarians, and other stakeholders to play a part in shaping improvements for the welfare of tens of millions of fish every year.”
The event came following investigative work and campaigning from Animal Equality UK which called for CCTV in all UK fish slaughterhouses, after the discovery that fish were having gills cut while conscious and were being bludgeoned up to seven times before being successfully stunned at slaughter.
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