Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the Scottish Government to introduce mandatory welfare inspections for farmed fish by APHA Scotland; and what plans they have, if any, to introduce mandatory inspections for farmed fish in England.

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, for which that person is responsible. Current regulations (1009/2009) require that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations. Any allegations of welfare or health issues will be investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Cefas, and where there are non-compliances with the regulations, appropriate action will be taken.

Visits to fish farms in Scotland are carried out by trained APHA inspectors in liaison with Marine Scotland Fish Inspectors in accordance with the requirements of Scottish Government (SG). APHA has been instructed by the SG to carry out inspections of farmed salmon slaughter facilities and based on these findings SG will then assess the need for future planned inspections. In England and Wales, there is no routine animal welfare inspection programme at farmed fish processing premises. However, as part of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are carefully considering issues raised in the review of the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015, including detailed protections for the welfare of farmed fish. We are also asking the Animal Welfare Committee to update its 2014 Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing.