The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any protected animal, or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of an animal, including fish. Regulations also require that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations.
I am aware that Regulation 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing requires that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations but does not include any further requirements. The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 makes it an offence for any person engaged in the restraint, stunning or killing of an invertebrate to cause avoidable pain, distress or suffering.
Any allegations of welfare or health issues will be investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Centre of Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science. Appropriate action is taken against anyone who breaks the law when examples of non-compliance are identified.
Prior to the general election, and as part of the last Conservative Government's Action Plan for Animal Welfare, Ministers had been considering improvements which could possibly be made to the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing.
I understand that the Animal Welfare Committee had updated its advice from 2014 on the killing of farmed fish and the last Government had been carefully studying its recommendations to determine possible next steps, including those around the stunning of farmed fish.
While, as far as I am aware, the new Labour Government has not outlined its position on this issue, I will follow any developments closely. It was, however, disappointing that the Labour manifesto did not contain a single reference to fish or fishing.
