Calling All Whistleblowers – please pass on photos of dead seals killed at salmon farms! https://t.co/xFcHeR4kEv@SSPOsays @salmon_scottish @scotseafarms @ScotlandMowi @GriegShetland @CookeScotland @LochDuartSalmon @WesterRossSalmo @Try_Lochlander @ptfss @strandings @tavishscott pic.twitter.com/NTpiU44pQ1
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) March 1, 2021
Scottish Salmon Watch is calling on workers inside the salmon farming industry in Scotland to blow the whistle on the illegal killing of seals, mass mortalities, disease problems, toxic chemical use, welfare abuse and any other cruel practices (please email Don Staniford via salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com). Last week's press release – and today's media splash in The Daily Mirror – stemmed from a tip-off from a whistlelower in October 2020:
Whistleblower on RSPCA Assured salmon farmer killing seals illegally: "I know an insider at Mowi who confirms the company shoots a lot more seals than what they report" @ScotlandMowi "Plenty goes unreported" @MowiScotlandLtd @marinescotland @rspcaassured https://t.co/Y3kY2D6BoI pic.twitter.com/c8aKR6iz28
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 26, 2021
Photos disclosed by the Scottish Government on 1 February 2021 (via FOI-202000118346):
Juvenile seal killed illegally – without a marine licence – by Mowi in Loch Ewe in January 2020 (case reported in February 2020 to Police Scotland's Wildlife Crime Unit – FOI request filed by Scottish Salmon Watch in February 2021 for further details):
Download PDF via #46 Photo of Mowi Loch Ewe seal killed
Download PDF via #48 Photo of Mowi Loch Ewe seal killed flipper wound
Is this a harbour seal killed illegally by Grieg Seafood in Loch Dunvegan? @GriegShetland @SSPOsays @marinescotland @ConcernMarine @Dunvegan_Castle @ScotSalmonTank @SkyeforAll @strandings @Folketrygdfond @FergusEwingSNP @KateForbesMSP @Ianblackford_MP @WHFP1 @SealScotland #Seals https://t.co/G0PAbHGJgV
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) March 1, 2021
A video published by Lush in August 2018 featured five dead seals washed up on a beach near salmon farms in Shetland.
The Sunday Post reported in February 2019:
What has happened since #SilentSlaughter? A step in the right direction as salmon farm in Shetland now invests in double netting. Pressure from YOU the public has helped make this happen. Can we make Shetland seal shooting free? PLEASE RT!! https://t.co/h3VPzmCkkS pic.twitter.com/ygnJZnvTkT
— Lizzie Daly (@LizzieDalyWild) February 4, 2019
In March 2019, the Scottish Government replied to a Freedom of Information request filed by Scottish Salmon Watch:
Scottish Salmon Watch reported in November 2018 on two whistleblowers at The Scottish Salmon Company and Marine Harvest (re-named Mowi in 2019 due to "negative consumer perception"):
Here's photos leaked by a whistleblower working at Marine Harvest (renamed Mowi in 2019):
Here's what Mowi's @rspcaassured salmon looked like after 300,000 died in the Beast from the East in 2018 at their Carradale farm (the same site hit yesterday by Storm Ellen) https://t.co/hyztwncvhO Skinless Scottish salmon anyone? @MowiScotlandLtd @sainsburys @LidlGB @AldiUK pic.twitter.com/xjf3JM20jG
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) August 21, 2020
There's no escaping Mowi's video nasty at Carradale in the Kilbrannan Sound! https://t.co/hXvXFWUeDP @MowiScotlandLtd Boycott Mowi salmon promoted by @rspcaassured @sainsburys @AldiUK @argyllandbute @SSPOsays pic.twitter.com/sZ1AZFwHlM
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) August 21, 2020
Here's photos leaked in 2018 by a whistleblower working for The Scottish Salmon Company at their facility at Toward near Dunoon in Argyll:
In February 2021, The Times reported on secret filming at The Scottish Salmon Company:
Waitrose salmon supplier Scottish Salmon Company let fish die on the floor https://t.co/6xPm4ds7BW @thetimes @animal_equality @salmon_scottish @Folketrygdfond @SSPOsays @Sygazette @WHFP1 @ciwf @onekindtweet @LynneUSneddon @waitrose @SSPCA_Mike @rspcaassured
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 13, 2021
Watch video report online here
Animal Equality reported (13 February 2021):
Back in 2000 (when working for Friends of the Earth Scotland) I secured a signed testimony from whistleblower Jackie Mackenzie regarding the illegal use of toxic chemicals at Ardessie Salmon.
When a second whistleblower stepped forward to corroborate claims of illegal chemical use the Scottish salmon farming trade body (then called Scottish Quality Salmon) kicked Ardessie Salmon out.
Whistleblowers could be in the money if any intelligence – including photos – leads to a successful prosecution. The Ferret reported last month (2 February 2021):
£5,000 reward offered for information on illegal shooting of seals https://t.co/o18coPAMLF via @ferretscot @SOSealsFund @SealScotland
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 2, 2021
Read more news via:
- Daily Mirror: "'Nearly 80 seals were legally shot in Scotland in 2020 – highest number in seven years'"
- Scottish Salmon's #1 Seal Killer – Norway's 'Scottish' Sea Farms Named & Shamed!
- Official Data: 1,000+ seals killed by salmon farms since 2011!
- The Ferret: "Salmon companies rapped for breaking rules on shooting seals"
- Caught in the Cross-Hairs: Illegal Killing of Seals by Scottish Salmon Farms!
- FOI opens sealed documents on killing by salmon farms
- Nasty Neonicotinoid Plagues Salmon Farming in 2021
- Pulling the Plug on ADD on salmon farms – is turning down the volume enough to comply with the law?
- Toxic Neonicotinoid "Close to Commercial Launch" in Salmon Farming!
The issue of mental health of workers exposed to such horrific conditions is a very real one – Scottish Salmon Watch has had several whistleblowers sharing shocking images of welfare abuse via salmon farming @ScotlandMowi @salmon_scottish @SSPOsays https://t.co/zuejxuaDqa pic.twitter.com/KPVIgNLncT
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) May 17, 2021