June 29, 2012 — Marine Scotland data that has revealed aquaculture companies have culled over 300 seals during 2011 and 2012, a number of controversial eco-activists are trying to encourage a boycott of Scottish farmed salmon.
The Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture (GAAIA) and Save Our Seals Fund (SOSF) are now calling on the US Government to ban imports of farmed salmon and for retailers to stop sourcing from ‘seal unfriendly’ Scottish salmon farms.
“Scotland’s seal killers should hang their heads in shame and hang up their guns,” said Don Staniford of GAAIA. “Supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco which condone the killing of seals by selling ‘seal-unfriendly’ farmed salmon have blood on their hands.”
John Robins, Secretary of SOSF in Scotland, said: “We have asked the US Department of Commerce to use existing US marine mammal protection laws to ban the import of salmon from Scottish floating factory fish farms. I hope the US Government can force Scottish salmon farmers to install seal exclusion nets, something the Scottish Government and the RSPCA have disgracefully failed to do. When you buy Scottish farmed salmon, even RSPCA-endorsed Scottish farmed salmon, you pay for bullets to shoot seals."
According to SOSF the Scottish Government admitted that 80 per cent of the nation’s salmon farms which were granted licences to shoot seals did not have anti-predator nets. GAAIA has now appealed to the Scottish Information Commissioner following Marine Scotland’s refusal to name the particular sites where the seals were killed.
“Consumers, chefs and retailers should boycott all Scottish farmed salmon from companies who support a shoot-to-kill policy,” continued Staniford. “It is a sad state of affairs when trigger-happy salmon farmers refuse to pay for predator nets and resort to the rifle as a first not last resort. Scotland’s seals are paying a high price for cheap Scottish farmed salmon.”
However, in response to these accusations, Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, said: “We have a moral, ethical and legal responsibility to protect our fish against persistent aggressive predators. A rogue seal can cause enormous suffering to thousands of fish and removal is only considered as a last resort.
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