Forgotten Fish – UK and EU law

30 December 2020

In UK and EU legislation (detailed within this post) one animal group is clearly lacking; fish. While both the EU and UK offer some protection neither have specific farm welfare legislation for fish. Of the farmed animals fish are the least protected group (Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), 2020:2).

Although fish meet the definition of animal in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 they are excluded from farm animal regulations (Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007) in Section 3. The Fisheries Act does not mention welfare (Fisheries Act 2020).

EU Directive 98/58/EC specifically includes fish as farmed animals yet excludes them from protection in Article 4 (EU Directive 98/58/EC).

A significantly vast number of fish are affected. Salmon and trout are the second and third most common animal kept for human use in the EU (Committee on Petitions, 2007:10). In the UK fish are the second largest group, see Figure 1. Despite their numbers and sentience (Levenda, 2013 and Bshary, 2002) fish are marginalised (Levenda, 2013).

^{_{Figure 1 – UK annual slaughter numbers}}

Welfare groups have called for legislation (Eurogroup for Animals, n.d.). The Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) recommended that government extend requirements for terrestrial species to farmed fish (FAWC, 2014). Without action fish will continue to suffer greatly (Levenda, 2013:6).

“…fish really are the forgotten trillions…” Dr Wojtas, Head of Fish Policy, CIWF (CIWF, 2020:2).

References

Animal Clock UK (n.d.) Annual UK animal slaughter stats. Available at: https://animalclock.org/uk/. [Accessed 15 December 2020].

Animal Welfare Act 2006, c. 45. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/45/contents [Accessed: 16 November 2020].

Bshary, R., Wickler, W. and Fricke, H. (2002) Fish cognition: a primate’s eye view. Animal cognition, 5, 1-13. Available at: https://www.unine.ch/files/live/sites/ethol/files/shared/documents/bswfr02.pdf. [Accessed 2 December 2020].

Compassion in World Farming (2020) Confused about fish labels? So are nearly two thirds of UK consumers. Available at: https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/7441175/fish-certification-scheme-press-release.pdf. [Accessed 1 December 2020].

Committee on Petitions (2017) Animal Welfare in the European Union. Available at: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/74df7b49-ffe7-11e6-8a35-01aa75ed71a1. [Accessed 7 November 2020].

Council Directive 98/58/EC of 20 July 1998 concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes. [Online]. [Accessed 8 November 2020]. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A31998L0058

Eurogroup for Animals (n.d.) Specific animal welfare legislation does not exist at present for certain species. Available at: https://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/what-we-do/areas-of-concern/all-species-not-covered-legislation. [Accessed 4 December 2020].  

Farm Animal Welfare Committee (2014). Opinion on the Welfare of Farmed Fish. Available at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319323/Opinion_on_the_welfare_of_farmed_fish.pdf . [Accessed 20 November 2020].

Fisheries Act 2020, c. 22. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2020/22/contents/enacted [Accessed: 5 December 2020].

Levenda, K. (2013) Legislation to protect the welfare of fish. Available at: https://www.animallaw.info/sites/default/files/lralvol20_1_119.pdf. [Accessed 2 December 2020].

The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2078). Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/2078/contents/made [Accessed: 5 November 2020].