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A salmon supplier whose produce was served at the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales has removed itself from the RSPCA’s main welfare standard.
Loch Duart suggested that the RSPCA Assured accreditation scheme was no longer fit for purpose after industrial fish farms were allowed to join.
Produce from the Sutherland-based firm was served at celebrations to mark Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee and to world leaders at the UN COP26 environmental summit in Glasgow. It has been championed by celebrity chefs including Jamie Oliver, Raymond Blanc and Rick Stein.
The north Highlands company became the first salmon farm to secure RSPCA Assured accreditation two decades ago. However, it has now removed the branding from its products and website.
“We have always been dedicated to upholding the Loch Duart standard, our unique low-impact approach to raising salmon which surpasses industry accreditations,” a spokesman said. “In 2004 we were proud to become the first fish farm to earn the RSPCA Assured accreditation. However, in our assessment, the scheme no longer holds the same significance that it once did for Loch Duart.
“Its application towards mass-produced salmon no longer aligns with Loch Duart’s core values of small-scale farming which prioritises quality over quantity.”
The company spokesman insisted that exiting the scheme was not an effort to water down welfare standards.
“Loch Duart still offers an unparalleled level of transparency and access to our farm,” he said. “Ours is the only salmon farm to have invited a local fisheries trust on site to independently oversee and audit our health checks and data before it is submitted to regulators.”
WildFish, a conservation charity, urged the RSPCA to distance itself from farmed salmon, echoing criticism by the broadcaster Chris Packham.
In March Packham, who is president of the RSPCA, described fish farms as “Lice-infested, aquatic prisons” and called for a boycott.
Rachel Mulrenan, WildFish’s Scotland director, said: “RSPCA Assured markets itself as the gold standard for animal welfare, supposedly guaranteeing that the fish they certify have been raised to the highest standards.
“Yet here we see that even a company that has itself been in the spotlight for poor fish welfare, and suffered eye-watering mortalities on its farms, has now distanced itself from the scheme.
“This is yet another clear signal that the RSPCA Assured scheme is fundamentally not working.
“Despite covering almost all of the Scottish salmon farming industry, with the exception now of Loch Duart, the clear trajectory of fish welfare on salmon farms is downwards, with mortalities increasing year on year.”
She added: “It is time for the RSPCA to heed the words of its president Chris Packham and stop certifying farmed salmon.”
Mulrenan pointed out that there was no maximum mortality level on RSPCA Assured farms, meaning businesses can remain certified even if three out of four salmon die prematurely.
The charity claimed that one farm operated by Loch Duart in South Uist reported a mortality rate of 77 per cent for a production cycle which ended in May last year.
In 2021 Loch Duart was served with two enforcement notices from the Scottish government over failures to control sea lice. The firm insisted climate charge was partly to blame because the parasites thrive in warmer waters.
The RSPCA said its welfare scheme continued to be a force for good. A spokeswoman said: “We’re sorry Loch Duart has decided to leave the RSPCA Assured higher welfare scheme and hope to work with them again in the future.
“Ultimately, we want all farmed animals to be reared in systems, such as those certified by RSPCA Assured, that provide them with a good life, which includes them being able to freely express their natural behaviours.
“Since they were introduced in 2002, the RSPCA’s standards have had a huge impact on salmon welfare and have been a catalyst for change throughout the entire salmon industry.”
Scottish salmon was the UK’s top food export in 2023, with sales totalling more than £580 million.