Animal Justice Calls for Investigation into Fish Welfare Practices at Sustainable Blue Salmon Farm
Animal Justice, a Canadian animal rights group, has filed a legal complaint with provincial authorities after footage surfaced showing fish being improperly euthanized at Sustainable Blue, a land-based salmon farm in Nova Scotia. The footage reportedly shows workers using blunt force to kill fish, raising questions about compliance with animal welfare standards in aquaculture.
The video, released by a whistleblower, depicts employees killing fish deemed sick or slow-growing by stomping on them or bashing them against the side of tanks. In one instance, a supervisor is shown slamming fish multiple times against a tank. The methods described appear to fall outside of voluntary industry guidelines, which stipulate that euthanasia should cause rapid unconsciousness followed by swift death.
Sustainable Blue markets itself as a sustainable fish farming operation, focusing on zero escapes and wastewater, and the absence of antibiotics or hormones. However, this incident has prompted calls for scrutiny over the farm’s fish welfare protocols. Animal Justice argues that the practices seen in the video violate provincial animal welfare laws and the Criminal Code, which prohibits causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
This incident follows a November 2023 mechanical failure at the farm that resulted in the death of 96,000 fish due to a failed filter system, further impacting the facility’s operations. Sustainable Blue has faced financial difficulties since, with the company currently in receivership.
Animal Justice has urged authorities to investigate and hold the company accountable for the alleged mistreatment of fish, while also highlighting the lack of specific laws regulating fish slaughter methods in Canada.
