Countryfile showed the deaths on Scottish salmon farms, but a fish welfare expert says the BBC didn’t go far enough
In my inbox, from Abigail Penny, Executive Director of Animal Equality UK:
Hi Angelina,
Last night was BIG.
BBC Countryfile investigated the Scottish salmon industry after Animal Equality shared undercover footage with them showing sick and dead fish.
People all over the country saw the footage supplied by Animal Equality to the BBC, showing the suffering behind the salmon products that they see on supermarket shelves.
And a lot of people have been reacting.
The Sun published an article this morning about the programme titled ‘Countryfile fans left sick to their stomach’.
We also saw comments from fellow animal protection organisations including OneKind, Compassion in World Farming, The Humane League, Animal Aid and more.
And more than 1,500 people have already signed our petition calling for the Scottish salmon industry to be halted from expanding any further!
There’ll be a lot of people thinking very differently about salmon today. I’m sure many have vowed never to eat Scottish salmon again and instead choose plant-based alternatives.
Supporters like you played a big role last night and I’m so thankful for everyone who’s fighting for fish right now.
Together, we’ve just pointed an enormous spotlight onto the Scottish salmon industry. Believe me, they’ll be feeling the pressure today.
But it wasn’t all positive.If you saw Countryfile, I’m sure you saw some of the coverage was not totally in support of fish.The Scottish salmon industry had plenty to say and they tried to play down the millions of deaths happening on its farms.
Angelina, we knew this would happen. We knew they’d try to defend their profits, even though millions of fish continue to suffer because of them.
That’s why I decided to record an interview with fish welfare expert, Professor Jennifer Jacquet, immediately after Countryfile aired.
In the video, we discuss the Countryfile episode and respond to some of the arguments made by the Scottish salmon industry.
I’ve also added this illustrative video below about fish welfare.
