Precautionary Principle Absent in Salmon Farming
Following the disappointing ramblings of Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon and Jill Barber, Head of Aquaculture Development, at the Rural Affairs & Islands Committee follow-up inquiry into salmon farming in Scotland on the 11th March, Animal Concern wrote to Ms Gougeon and Marine Directorate Jonathan Fletcher to point out, once again, that their responses to the vast issues raised within the salmon farming industry remain unaddressed.
In our letter we referred to the response received from Mr Fletcher on behalf of Ms Gougeon, which missed the mark by a mile.
We wrote;
“While there is a lot of talk about planning systems, framework and undertaking programmes for improvement, in real time there are millions of salmon which are subject to a life of suffering that is mostly hidden from the public eye. There is no framework that exists that can prevent warming water temperatures from wreaking havoc on the millions of salmon trapped in cages, or outbreaks of disease, or lethal parasite loads. It is why these problems have remained prevalent since salmon farming was established.
You may be aware that in B.C., they have put the precautionary principle into action and removed salmon farms from the migratory paths of wild salmon, and progressed to phasing out salmon farms.”
The first recommendation, to phase out open net salmon farms, is what using the precautionary principle looks like.
The Scottish Government has an obligation to ensure Scotland is not negatively impacted by practices in salmon farming. The negative impacts of the industry have been well established, yet precautionary measures have been put aside repeatedly. It is reckless to expand this industry given the vast uncertainty around the issues already put to you.”
We also wrote to members of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee who are blinded by perceived economic benefits to remind them that their duty is not to the salmon farming industry, but to Scotland as a whole.
Next Wednesday on the 25th March, we will be joining Animal Equality and others in Edinburgh to stand together once again to remind the Scottish Government that they have a care of duty to the salmon that are subject to a life of cruelty, and to the people who are calling for an end to this sick industry.
Photo courtesy of: Wildfish
This is our final chance to speak up for these animals before the Scottish Government is dissolved for the upcoming election. Please email us at campaigns@animalconcern.org if you want to stand together for salmon.