Scottish salmon farmers will be banned from shooting seals stealing their stocks, under new animal welfare rules approved by Holyrood last night.
MSPs voted yesterday to approve the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill, which includes tougher penalties for wildlife crime.
Scottish farmers shot 31 seals during the first three months of 2020, and in total 75 were killed in 2019. They argue it is necessary is to protect their stocks, claiming 500,000 fish are lost a year to seals and net breaches.
But Scottish ministers have been keen to halt the practice, over fears the US would ban imports of Scottish smoked salmon. From 2022 a new animal welfare law will ban the US from importing fish from countries where seals are killed to protect fisheries.
Mark Simmons, senior marine scientists at the Humane Society, welcomed the new legislation. We share our seas with these charismatic marine mammals, and it is simply unacceptable to kill them for eating the fish in their ocean home, he said.
It is important that this ban comes swiftly into force and that the situation is carefully and independently monitored to ensure there is not a spike in seal killing in the run-up to its implementation, or indeed illegal killing afterwards. Benign methods to keep seals away from fish farms will need to be deployed and carefully observed to ensure that they are safe.
Ministers are also making plans to restrict the use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices’ (ADD), which emit underwater sounds to scare off seals. Scotland Natural Heritage has expressed concerns about the devices causing hearing damage and stress among seals, whales, dolphins and porpoises.
But salmon farmers insisted they must be able to continue using ADDs to control seals near their fisheries.
Hamish Macdonell, Director of Strategic Engagement at the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation, said: Scottish salmon farmers are prepared for the ban on the shooting of seals which was passed today by MSPs but must have access to effective non-lethal measures if they are to fulfil their statutory duty to protect their fish.
Our farmers believe that ADDs are an effective management tool in deterring seal attacks but are only one of a range of measures farmers use to protect their livestock, he added.
2020 JPIMedia Publications Ltd.