A new report from the AssociazioneessereAnimali reports mistreatment and irregularities in a trout farm in the Treviso area. A former employee videotaped kicked-in fish and specimens with parasites.
In a new report on mistreatment in animal farms intended for the food supply chain, the È Animali association talks about terrible violence and irregularities in a trout, sturgeon and eel farm in the province of Treviso. The association collected videos shot by a former employee showing irregular culling practices and veterinarians who allegedly failed to challenge the illicit practices. According to the report, they would also have notified the company in question before proceeding with the checks.
There are many documented irregularities, with violence against animals starting from the unloading phase up to the killing phase. The fish are thrown directly from the truck tank into the storage tanks without the use of chutes or pumping systems. The animals are discharged at very high speed and from a great height: this causes not only in species acute stressbut also risks of serious injuries, so much so that some specimens have even been observed broken in half.
During the fishing phases, the fish that fall to the ground are hooked to the mouth with an iron with a hooked end and then thrown into the baskets. Here they bang violently against each other or against the metal walls of the containers. The impact causes serious suffering to the animals, as evidenced by the traces of blood present on the skin or in the water.
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In several cases, the operators they would have used their hands or feet to grab or kick the animals. The mortality rate of fish within the farm is very high and many animals have deep wounds, infections or parasites which also represent a problem for the health of consumers.
Even the killings are particularly brutal: in some images, a still conscious sturgeon is slammed to the ground by an operator and in some cases, the workers used electrical cable clamps directly on the animals’ gills.
The former employee would also have explained that approximately 80% of the trout farmed are not stunned and according to the recommendations of the European Commission and are killed by asphyxiation. The choice is dictated by the desire to avoid the formation of blood stains on the fillets, which occurs when blast chilling using electric current (as recommended) is not up to standard.
Even in cases where electric current is used, the images show the use of inadequate practices: the animals are kept out of the water and this hinders the uniform circulation of the electric discharge between the fish, making immediate and adequate stunning impossible for everyone. Furthermore, since there is no water in the containers, the fish at the top crush those below with their weight.
Veterinarians would also be aware of the failure to use electricity as required by law during the killing phases of trout intended for sale as fillets. Furthermore, the company in the Treviso area would have been warned in advance of the ASL checks and the slaughterhouse would have acted accordingly to hide any irregularities during the inspections. The farm in question was denounced byessereanimali for animal cruelty and various environmental protection violations.
According to API, the Italian Fish Farmers’ Association, aquaculture is one of the fastest growing sectors for protein production and is the fifth largest fish producer in the world. Italian consumers are therefore more likely than in the past to purchase farmed fish rather than fish caught in the open sea.
A large portion of consumers prefer products from farms with the “sustainable aquaculture” label developed in 2020 by the Ministry of Agriculture, API and Shellfish Producers (AMA) which presents clear criteria to eliminate the main causes of suffering for fish in farms.
“The labeling for sustainable aquaculture does not guarantee compliance with the rules within fish farming just as unfortunately the controls do not guarantee compliance with the regulations and good practices. In fact, on the part of the Ministry of Health there is no obligation to effectively stun fish before killing to avoid pain and prolonged suffering for the animals” explained the association that launched the campaign “UNsustainable labeling”, with which he requests that some essential changes be integrated to address the most relevant critical issues for these animals in a transparent and clear manner. In the campaign,essereanimali also asks that the Ministry of Health begin to work actively to protect the well-being of fish.
Among the main requests, also the integration into the regulation of a clear definition of animal welfare, necessary to be able to precisely identify and interpret the evaluation criteria for farms.
