Chris Packham, the president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), has signed an open letter to Wagamama, urging the restaurant chain to cease using farmed salmon in its dishes.
Last month, the BBC presenter and naturalist called on Wagamama to remove farmed salmon from its menus, branding the product an “environmental disaster”.
A petition urging the brand – which sells Japanese-inspired Asian food at more than 170 locations in the UK – to remove the product from their kitchens received more than 100,000 signatures.
Now, in an open letter to the chain, Packham, along with environmental charity WildFish Scotland and the campaign group Feedback, claims that farmed salmon is an “environmental disaster.”
“We are relieved to hear that you will be moving away from sourcing Norwegian salmon, given the industry’s clear reliance on fishmeal and fish oil sourced from West Africa and other vulnerable fisheries,” it read.
“However, your proposed position to instead source farmed salmon from Scotland does not address our concerns, or those of the over 100,000 people who signed our petition.
“We regret that we still have not had any response from you to these concerns.
“Wagamama claimed that their salmon comes from Norwegian and Scottish suppliers that do not use feed from West Africa.
“Please could you provide a list of the Norwegian and Scottish companies that you have been sourcing from.
“We found in our Blue Empire report that the four big feed producers – MOWI, Skretting, Cargill and BioMar – supply close to 100% of the feed used in Norwegian salmon farming.
“All of them source fish oil from West Africa.”
Wagamama responded by stating that their salmon is sustainably sourced from both Norwegian and Scottish fisheries that do not use feed from West Africa, and that they plan to source exclusively from RSPCA-accredited Scottish farms by the end of 2024.
The company emphasized its commitment to sustainability and continuous improvement in its sourcing practices.
Packham and his co-signatories have stated that they plan to escalate their concerns to Apollo Management Group, the US private equity firm that owns Wagamama.
The RSPCA is a charity organization that promotes animal welfare in England and Wales. It was founded in 1824 and is one of the oldest and most prominent animal welfare organizations in the world. The body’s certification program RSPCA Assured sets standards for the welfare of farm animals. Farms, abattoirs, and food processing plants that meet these standards can use the RSPCA Assured label, indicating that the animals have been treated humanely.
