A Compassionate World

Whether they are cold or wet blooded, small and cute, or big and ugly, Compassion campaigns for all farm animals, regardless of how much public sympathy is associated with them. This is why we care about fish as well as chickens, cows, sheep, turkeys and all animals reared for food on land or in water.

I started looking into aquaculture, or fish farming, in the early 1990s. My initial forays culminated in a report being published by Compassion in 1992 which showed how tens of thousands of fish are often crammed at high stocking densities into barren cages or pens.

Ten years later I reassessed the industry in a follow-up called, In Too Deep – Why Fish Farming Needs Urgent Welfare Reform. It was whilst debating issues with the fish farming industry in Edinburgh some years later that I realised that, though the debate within this area was fast moving, serious concerns about the welfare and environmental impact of fish farming remained. That is why I asked my close colleague and fish welfare expert, Peter Stevenson, to look deeper into what seemed to me to be the murky waters of this subject in 2007. Closed Waters was the result.

Nearly 20 years of study have reaffirmed our opposition to intensively farmed fish. Why? Because fish in these waterborne factory farms suffer serious problems, including frustration often of natural behaviours, physical injuries, increased susceptibility to disease, high mortality rates and, in some countries, inhumane slaughter methods. Compassion believes the transportation, confinement and slaughter of fish as well as the environmental impact of aquaculture, including on wild fish, birds and other wildlife, is an important issue in our campaign to end factory farming.

This is why I’m excited about recent developments in the European Union. A Report by the European Parliament has called for significant changes in aquaculture and the way fish are farmed. I’m proud to say that colleagues at Compassion have played an important role in making sure the welfare of fish is taken into account more seriously than ever before. And it’s progress that would not have been possible without you and your support. Thank you!

On June 17 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) voted overwhelmingly in favour of a Report to improve things in fish farming. The Report, ‘A new impetus for the Strategy for the Sustainable Development of European Aquaculture’, in the words of its proponent, Italian Socialist MEP Guido Milana, aims to improve “farming quality standards” and calls for improvements in the welfare of farmed fish.

The Report stresses that the new Lisbon Treaty “recognises fish as sentient beings” and commits the EU to paying “full regard to the welfare requirements of the animals”. The Report stresses the “need to reduce to a minimum the stress levels caused by farm density or transport and to search for more humane slaughter techniques, and the well-being of fish in general”. Also, the Report recommends that the European Fisheries Fund should focus support on farms which follow good practices thereby making them more economically viable for farmers to implement.

It is also too easy to forget about fish. To also think they don’t suffer. There is increasing scientific evidence that they are capable, in their own way, to experience the world in which they live. Scientists increasingly document how fish feel fear, distress and pain.

Even though there is hope for fish in the EU, we must be ever vigilant on their behalf throughout the world. For example, ‘super salmon’ – genetically modified fish that grow to adult size in half the time – could be available for human consumption in the US in two years if they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. What concerns me is that, if this happens, the company will then seek approval from the EU to market ‘super salmon’ here. We cannot let this happen! Fish need all the help we can give them. Please help us to turn back the tide on factory farming in our waters.

Just back from Brussels, I can report that the EU Commissioner responsible for consumer health and animal welfare, John Dalli, has reconfirmed that there will be no delay to the 2012 ban on barren battery cages. This is hugely welcome news and should help to quell industry mutterings to the contrary.

The barren battery cage, a system that still incarcerates most of Europe’s laying hens, is due to be banned in just over 18 months’ time. That victory has been hard won by you, Compassion’s wonderful supporters, who have supported our long-standing campaign together with our partner societies across Europe.

Ever since the ban was announced, however, some in agri-industry and some countries have tried to undermine the ban. The most recent attempt was by the Polish government earlier this year. We mobilised our lobbyists against this threat and were delighted when the Polish attempt was thwarted. However, the danger didn’t end there. Even last night, I heard of a rumour of delay from as far away as the USA, underlining the need for us to be vigilant. And Compassion will remain so until the awful battery cage is finally banned come 1st January 2012.

Our three adopted hens are doing well rearranging our back garden to suit themselves! Thank you to everyone who has asked how they are getting on. Hetty, Hazy and Hope, as we’ve named them, are doing well. They remind me every day of the importance of ending factory farming. That hens, in common with other animals, have their own likes and dislikes. Their own wants and needs. Their own idea of what they want to do and where they want to go. Every day, I see how important it is to them to scratch the ground under their feet and to run around the garden flapping their wings. Every day, I say thank goodness that Compassion’s dedicated supporters have done so much to make life better for the millions of birds otherwise caged for life, unable to experience the most basic of natural behaviours. And every day, our hens remind me of the importance of vigilance and of ensuring that nothing gets in the way of consigning those barren battery cages to history.

Here at Compassion, we are blessed with our third wedding of the year! Congratulations to Jennifer Gatenby from our fundraising team who marries Frazer Balloch in St Lucia on Saturday 5th June. The happy couple will then return to the UK for their reception at Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower.