Prominent salmon farming critic Corin Smith has launched a scathing attack on vegan and animal rights activists, accusing them of hijacking the debate on Scottish salmon farming for their own gain.
In an editorial titled “Vegan and animal rights ‘Walter Mittys’ have no place in the debate on Scottish salmon farming,” Smith lambasts these groups for what he describes as self-serving, performative activism, largely driven by social media “likes.”
Smith, who founded the Inside Scottish Salmon Feedlots (ISSF), did not hold back in his critique, accusing activists from outside Scotland—many of whom, he claims, are from England—of targeting a small family-run business to score cheap points.
His editorial, posted on the group’s Facebook page, follows a recent surge in media attention surrounding the scandal over the dumping of diseased salmon in the Outer Hebrides, a story which Smith says is being cynically recycled by vegan campaigners.
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In his most cutting remarks, Smith calls these activists “Walter Mittys”—a reference to the fictional character known for living in a fantasy world—and accuses them of seeking attention rather than genuinely trying to resolve the issues facing Scottish communities.
“These Walter Mitty vegan activists, mostly from England, are only really interested in playing to their own crowd. They have no connection to, or regard for, Scotland and our communities,” Smith wrote.
Smith’s editorial paints a picture of a movement that is more concerned with its social media profile than with finding real solutions to the environmental and welfare problems within Scotland’s salmon farming industry. He writes, “If you’re just in it for ‘likes on the gram,’ then it’s probably best to GTF.”
At the heart of Smith’s ire is what he sees as the activists’ relentless pursuit of Whiteshore Cockles, a family-owned firm accused of dumping dead salmon, which was initially permitted by the Scottish Government.
He argues that these campaigners are focusing on the wrong target: “Bullying and seeking to destroy the reputation and livelihood of an ordinary Scottish family is unacceptable, not to mention it completely misses the point.” He compares the activists’ obsession with the salmon dumps to “worrying about where to put cigarette ash when everyone is dying from cancer caused by smoking.”
Smith reserves particular scorn for Green Britain Foundation founder Dale Vince, who recently filed a criminal complaint against Whiteshore Cockles, calling it part of an effort to persecute the company and its owners.
In response, Smith writes that if he had known his original exposé of the salmon dumping would have led to such attacks on the family behind the business, he would never have publicized it. “Any apology I can offer now would be hollow and insulting, all I can do is use my voice to call out Dale Vince and the vegan and animal rights activists who are using a soft and irrelevant target to play to their own echo chamber.”
Smith’s commentary has widened the divide between local activists and more ideological vegan and animal rights groups. He positions himself as a defender of Scottish coastal communities, suggesting that solutions to the salmon farming industry’s problems should come from within Scotland, rather than from outsiders.
“It is the sensible, reasonable, rational residents of Scotland and our coastal communities who are best placed to find the best solutions, for Scotland,” he wrote, implying that external ideologues have no business in the debate.
