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02/14/2022

Anyone for M&S’s Virus-Laden Scottish Salmon (don’t worry, it’s “responsibly sourced” & RSPCA Assured)?!

 

 

 

PR Spelve Morts 14 Feb 2022 #1

 

Photo #3

 

 

Download press release in full online here (PDF) and online here (Word)

 

 

PR Spelve Morts 14 Feb 2022 #2 photo

 

 

 

Read a letter sent to M&S (14 February 2022) online here (PDF) and online here (Word)

 

M&S Letter re ISA & PRV in Scottish Salmon 14 February 2022 #1

 

 



 

 

 

 

Read more via:

It’s Official: Infectious Salmon Anaemia Back to Haunt Scottish Salmon - reported to the World Organization for Animal Health for the first time since 2012!

Greenwashing 'Sustainable' Salmon - how supermarkets brand themselves as "responsible" via ClientEarth!

Bullshit Called on M&S's "Responsibly Sourced" Scottish Salmon!

Media Backgrounder: Irresponsibly Farmed Scottish Salmon

Irresponsibly Farmed Scottish Salmon - Complaints Filed Vs Supermarkets with Advertising & Trading Standards!

Breaking News: ISA reported at RSPCA Assured Scottish Sea Farms on the Isle of Mull

Damning Disease Report for RSPCA Assured Scottish Sea Farms in Loch Spelve

Rest Assured - the RSPCA has been captured, co-opted & corrupted by the Salmafia

M&S "phase out" Lochmuir fake brand in favour of RSPCA Assured - out of the frying pan into the fire!

Intrafish: "RSPCA suspends M&S farmed salmon supplier's eco-label for alleged welfare violations"

Herald On Sunday: "Scottish M&S supplier blames seals for salmon wounds as RSPCA Assured status is suspended"

RSPCA Suspends Spelve Salmon Farm & 'Urgently Investigates' M&S Supplier Scottish Sea Farms!

Secret Filming Exposes RSPCA ‘Abused’ Scottish Salmon - Welfare Complaint Filed Against M&S Supplier Scottish Sea Farms

Caveat Emptor - M&S's Fake 'Lochmuir' Scottish Salmon (sourced from Norwegian-owned Scottish Sea Farms)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix:

 

From: Don Staniford <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 6:51 PM
Subject: Re: M&S Ref: 1679187
To: M&S Executive Office <[email protected]>
 
Lindsay,
 
With respect, your email fails to even address the questions put to M&S; namely:
 

How many of your Scottish salmon – understood to be exclusively supplied by Scottish Sea Farms (Norskott Havbruk) – are infected with diseases, pathogens and viruses such as Infectious Salmon Anaemia, Piscine Reovirus, Proliferative Gill Disease (Piscichlamydia), Salmon Gill Poxvirus and Amoebic Gill Disease?

 

M&S has no doubt been notified by the Scottish Government and Scottish Sea Farms that Infectious Salmon Anaemia was officially reported to the World Organization for Animal Health in September 2021 following a positive case in Loch Spelve wher 369,195 salmon were listed as ‘susceptible’ (the farm where M&S pioneered their fake ‘Lochmuir’ brand). 

 

How many of these ISA-infected farmed salmon were sold to unsuspecting consumers by M&S?

 
 
 
Your email claims that M&S "care about where our food comes from" - so why are you sourcing Scottish salmon from disease-ridden farms with mortality rates of a third?
 
How can the farmed salmon M&S source from at Scottish Sea Farms be in any way "happier" when 33% of the fish are dying a cruel death?
 
Your email concedes that "from time to time there can be disease outbreaks and other welfare challenges" but the nature of factory salmon farming means that disease is a daily problem and welfare abuse is rampant. 
 
Your claim that "welfare concerns on RSPCA Assured certified farms are extremely rare" is simply untrue and not backed up by mortality, disease and lice data or photographic and video evidence. 
 
Answers to the questions posed this morning would be much appreciated.
 
Thanks,
 
Don
 
 
From: M&S Executive Office <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 2:06 PM
Subject: M&S Ref: 1679187
To: <[email protected]>
 

Dear Mr Staniford,

 

Thank you very much for contacting Steven Mclean, Steve Rowe and our Food Press Relation Office. I work in our Executive Team and your email has been sent to me to respond to.

 

I can understand your concerns and I would like to assure you that we are proud of our strong values and the work we do with our farmers. We also care about where our food comes from, as do our customers.

We only source from a handful of dedicated farms that are exclusive to our business—meaning we know and trust our Select Farmers to meet our high standards. We meet the widely recognised RSPCA Assured standards across all of our Select Farms producing salmon, ensuring the best growing conditions so the fish are happier and healthier as a result.

We have worked with Scottish Sea Farms to adopt one of the lowest stocking densities for our salmon at just 1.5% fish to 98.5% water. It makes a huge difference to the welfare of the fish, making them happier and reducing stress.

 

To ensure their is consistency, we audit our Select Farms at least once per year and make it easy for our customers to find out detailed information on our farms such as location and farming methods by using our interactive seafood map.

 

Referring to the images and report that you have referred to in your email, I want to assure you that we were very concerned by some of the footage and allegations of poor welfare and immediately suspended the farm whilst we urgently investigated.

Following our detailed investigation, which included a rigorous in-person inspection by a specially-trained RSPCA farm livestock officer, we found no evidence to support the allegations made. 

 

Unfortunately, it is a reality of farming any animal - and also pet ownership - that from time to time there can be disease outbreaks and other welfare challenges. What is most important is that the person responsible acts swiftly to address them.  We are fully satisfied that the issues identified in the video were being swiftly and responsibly addressed by the farm at the time, in accordance with the RSPCA’s welfare standards. Therefore, the suspension was lifted.

 

I hope this reassures you that any allegations of animal welfare issues, or breaches of the RSPCA Assured membership agreement, are taken very seriously and always thoroughly investigated. But, thankfully, welfare concerns on RSPCA Assured certified farms are extremely rare, and many millions more farm animals are having a better life thanks to the work of the charity.

 

Thank you very much for contacting us with your concerns.

Kind regards

Lindsay Poole
Executive Team
Your M&S Customer Service

---

Registered office: Waterside House, 35 North Wharf Road, London, W2 1NW
Registered Number: 214436 (England and Wales)

 

 

From: Don Staniford <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 12:03 PM
Subject: Letter to M&S re. virus-laden Scottish salmon
To: <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>

 

Steven,

 

Further to my email of 20 September 2021 (re-enclosed below) which has still not received a response please find attached a letter to M&S on the issue of virus-infected Scottish salmon.

 

The letter (online here) includes:

 

How many of your Scottish salmon – understood to be exclusively supplied by Scottish Sea Farms (Norskott Havbruk) – are infected with diseases, pathogens and viruses such as Infectious Salmon Anaemia, Piscine Reovirus, Proliferative Gill Disease (Piscichlamydia), Salmon Gill Poxvirus and Amoebic Gill Disease?

 

M&S has no doubt been notified by the Scottish Government and Scottish Sea Farms that Infectious Salmon Anaemia was officially reported to the World Organization for Animal Health in September 2021 following a positive case in Loch Spelve wher 369,195 salmon were listed as ‘susceptible’ (the farm where M&S pioneered their fake ‘Lochmuir’ brand). 

How many of these ISA-infected farmed salmon were sold to unsuspecting consumers by M&S?

Read more via: Anyone for M&S’s Virus-Laden Scottish Salmon (don’t worry, it’s “responsibly sourced” & RSPCA Assured)?!

 

Tweets which M&S can reply to via:

https://twitter.com/TheGAAIA/status/1493189172122865670

https://twitter.com/TheGAAIA/status/1493153204019859458

 

 

Best fishes,

 

 

Don Staniford

 

Director, Scamon Scotland

 

 

 

From: Don
Sent: 20 September 2021 12:24
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: "Responsibly Sourced Scottish Salmon" - justification?

Steven,

Could M&S please provide justification for your in-store advertising claims that your Scottish salmon is “responsibly sourced”?

This photo was taken in M&S in Fort William on 5th September 2021:

M&S photo #1

 

Similar advertising claims re. M&S’s “responsibly sourced” Scottish salmon are made online via:

https://www.ocado.com/products/m-s-scottish-skin-on-salmon-fillets-518184011

https://www.ocado.com/products/m-s-scottish-salmon-fillet-joint-skin-on-520580011

https://www.facebook.com/MarksandSpencer/posts/all-ms-fish-is-responsibly-sourced-and-our-farmed-salmon-is-100-scottish-so-when/10157847196168612/

https://www.facebook.com/111976040495431/photos/all-our-fresh-salmon-is-scottish-and-is-only-sourced-from-ms-select-farms-we-kno/123114016048300/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvHDztBCtyg

 

I understand that Ecohustler has raised environmental, welfare and sustainability concerns with you directly via:

https://ecohustler.com/culture/the-salmon-dance-mands-petition-hand-in-event

https://ecohustler.com/technology/reply-from-mands-on-factory-farmed-salmon

https://ecohustler.com/technology/open-letter-to-marks-and-spencer-on-salmon

 

And over 115,000 people have signed a petition asking M&S to stop labelling unsustainable salmon as ‘responsibly sourced’:

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/come-clean-about-the-damage-caused-by-your-farmed-salmon

 

M&S’s Scottish salmon supplier (I understand your sole salmon supplier) Scottish Sea Farms has featured in various video exposes which undermine M&S’s “responsibly sourced” claim with respect to fish welfare:

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/05/rspca-suspends-spelve-salmon-farm-urgently-investigates-ms-supplier-scottish-sea-farms-.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/05/herald-on-sunday-scottish-ms-supplier-blames-seals-for-salmon-wounds-as-rspca-assured-status-is-susp.html

https://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/2021/03/murky-depths-of-the-scottish-salmon-industry-exposed-in-new-undercover-investigation

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2020/12/bbc-countryfile-features-lice-infested-rspca-assured-salmon-.html

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18836582.scottish-salmon-found-sickening-conditions-across-scotland-sea-lice-problem-escalates/

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2020/10/in-july-2020-scottish-salmon-watch-filmed-inside-salmon-cages-at-the-scottish-salmon-company-in-loch-striven.html

 

Not to mention diseases, viruses and mortality issues:

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/08/breaking-news-isa-reported-at-rspca-assured-scottish-sea-farms-on-the-isle-of-mull.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/08/damning-disease-report-for-scottish-sea-farms-in-loch-spelve-.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/04/update-mortality-rate-over-36-at-rspca-assured-scottish-sea-farms-.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2020/02/the-culling-farms-new-case-information-from-the-scottish-government-.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2020/02/photo-dossier-of-diseased-deformed-abused-scottish-salmon.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/06/ms-drop-lochmuir-fake-brand-in-favour-of-rspca-assured-out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire.html

 

And the killing of seals:

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/02/scottish-salmons-1-seal-killer-norways-scottish-sea-farms-named-shamed.html

 

And even whales:

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/scottish_salmons_seal_kil/2014/07/salmon-farming-kills-whales.html

 

As you know, before a complaint can be filed with the ASA an opportunity to justify the advertising claims must be given to the advertiser.   Hence, could you please provide evidence that your Scottish salmon is “responsibly sourced” or withdraw your advertising claims. 

Your blog dated 4 December 2020 claims via https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/stories/blog/what-makes-m-and-s-salmon-responsibly-sourced

“It’s my team’s responsibility to ensure that our salmon is always sourced responsibly and central to that is our leading Select Farms standards together with our long-standing partnership with our supplier Scottish Sea Farms. Although there are many farms operated by Scottish Sea Farms across Scotland, at M&S we only source from a handful of dedicated farms that are exclusive to our business—meaning we know and trust our Select Farmers to meet our high standards…..But we know there’s always more to be done. Because of our incredibly strong relationship with Scottish Sea Farms, we’ll continue working collaboratively to keep on improving our standards, so that our customers can trust that M&S salmon has always been, and always will be, sourced responsibly.”

In your reply, could you please expand on how M&S Scottish salmon is always “responsibly sourced”?

From the recently published photos from a Scottish Government inspection of M&S’s ‘RSPCA Assured’ Loch Spelve salmon farm in May 2021 it does not appear that your advertising claims are correct:

M&S photo #2

M&S photo #3

Photos via https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2021/08/damning-disease-report-for-scottish-sea-farms-in-loch-spelve-.html

Further information to corroborate your advertising claims is therefore much appreciated. 

Thanks,

Don Staniford

Campaigns Manager, Animal Concern

 

 

 

 

Posted at 09:11 AM |

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