Animal Equality UK criticises lack of fish slaughterhouse welfare inspections

Up to 77 million fish are slaughtered in the UK every year, yet not a single official body carries out routine or mandatory welfare inspections at fish slaughterhouses in England and Wales.

Animal advocacy group Animal Equality UK has branded the lack of oversight a "disgrace" and a major blindspot, warning that it leaves millions of animals vulnerable to painful deaths behind closed doors.

The charity contacted several regulatory bodies to find out who checks on fish welfare during slaughter. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) pointed them to the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI), while previously suggesting they contact the Food Standards Agency (FSA). However, both the FSA and the FHI confirmed to the charity that they do not perform routine or mandatory inspections at these facilities.

"Fish are thinking, feeling beings, capable of pain," said Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality UK. "It is a disgrace that not a single government agency will take responsibility for checking on their welfare at slaughter."

Decades of delay

Concerns over how farmed fish are killed are not new. The government’s own advisory body, the Animal Welfare Committee — formerly the Farm Animal Welfare Council — first recommended legislating the slaughter of farmed fish in 1996.

The committee raised the issue again in 2014 and most recently in 2024, when it urged ministers across the UK to pass laws requiring all farmed fish to be stunned before slaughter. It also insisted that an inspection system must be established to enforce those standards.

While the government promised to introduce humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish in its Animal Welfare Strategy for England, published in December 2025, draft legislation has still not been made public.

"For 30 years, people in power have known that farmed fish need legal protection when they are slaughtered, yet for 30 years decisionmakers have failed to act," Penny said. She urged ministers to bring forward species-specific slaughter laws immediately, backed by a proper inspection regime.

How the industry is regulated

The scale of the industry is substantial. Animal Equality UK estimates that around 7,742 tonnes of trout are killed each year in England and Wales. According to the British Trout Association, the UK is home to nearly 290 trout farms and hatcheries, mostly concentrated in northern and southern England, as well as southern Scotland.

Defending its oversight, the APHA rejected the claim that fish farms escape government scrutiny.

An APHA spokesperson said it was incorrect to suggest fish farms are not regulated or inspected. The agency stated that it investigates reports of suspected poor welfare, while the Fish Health Inspectorate carries out inspections on behalf of the government. The spokesperson added that they do not hesitate to act if they find evidence of cruelty or neglect.