Up to ۷۷m fish are slaughtered each year in the UK but there are no routine or mandatory inspections of fish slaughterhouses in England and Wales, it can be revealed.
Concerns within government about the way fish are slaughtered date back decades but all of the official bodies responsible for animal welfare and food standards in England and Wales said they do not undertake regular inspections.
When Animal Equality UK contacted the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), it referred the charity to the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI). In response to a previous inquiry, the APHA had said it does not carry out mandatory inspections of fish slaughterhouses and suggested contacting the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Both the FSA and the FHI told Animal Equality UK that they did not carry out routine or mandatory inspections.
Abigail Penny, the executive director of Animal Equality UK, said: “Fish are thinking, feeling beings, capable of pain. It is a disgrace that not a single government agency will take responsibility for checking on their welfare at slaughter. This is a huge blindspot, and it leaves these animals all the more vulnerable behind closed doors.”
In ۱۹۹۶, the government’s expert advisory body, the Farm Animal Welfare Council – now called the Animal Welfare Committee – suggested there should be legislation governing the slaughter of farmed fish. The committee returned to the issue in ۲۰۱۴ and again in ۲۰۲۴. On the latter occasion it urged governments across the UK to legislate for fish to be stunned before slaughter, and for inspection systems to be put in place to enforce those standards.
In its Animal Welfare Strategy for England, published in December ۲۰۲۵, the government committed to introducing humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish but draft legislation has yet to be published.
Penny said: “For ۳۰ years, people in power have known that farmed fish need legal protection when they are slaughtered, yet for ۳۰ years decisionmakers have failed to act.”
She added: “The government promised to change the law, and we welcome that promise, but promises don’t protect animals. Every month of delay leaves millions of fish at risk of prolonged, painful deaths. Ministers must bring forward species-specific slaughter legislation now, backed by a proper inspection regime, so that what happens to these animals is no longer left to chance. It’s the least they deserve.”
Animal Equality UK estimates that about ۷,۷۴۲ tonnes of trout a year are killed in England and Wales. The British Trout Association says the UK has almost ۲۹۰ trout farms, including hatcheries, concentrated in northern England, southern England and southern Scotland.
An APHA spokesperson said: “It is incorrect to suggest fish farms aren’t regulated or inspected by government bodies. APHA investigates reports of suspected cases of poor welfare at fish farms, and the Fish Health Inspectorate inspects them on behalf of the government. We do not hesitate to take further action if we find evidence of cruelty or neglect.”
