“These cases are a threat to the rights we all have to freedom of expression and to navigate on the open sea,” said retired lawyer Ewan Kennedy who has closely followed Staniford’s case. “It’s essential that the salmon farming industry should not succeed in preventing the public from finding out what’s going on in our waters. Combining tenacity with a strong scientific background, Don Staniford has been carrying out work which governmental regulators have signally failed to do, and in the process has exposed countless instances of animal abuse and pollution. Time and again the video evidence which he has gathered has provided the basis for articles in the mainstream press and on television. Staniford’s secret filming is clearly in the public interest.”
“Please help stop Norwegian-owned companies using the Scottish courts to shut down secret filming at salmon farms across Scotland,” explains a Crowd Justice fund-raising page. “Take a look at the horrors uncovered in 2023 and you can see why salmon farming companies are desperate to stop the public from seeing the ugly truth about Scottish salmon.”
“If these foreign-owned companies win permanent interdicts (injunctions) against public access it will severely limit public scrutiny of the welfare and environmental conditions in which salmon are being farmed,” warns Staniford’s Crowd Justice page. “Interdicts against me will establish a precedent for restraining other coastal users such as fishermen, kayakers, swimmers, tourism operators, wind surfers, yacht people and other boat users from crossing parts of the sea. The salmon farming giants are also, chillingly, seeking to prevent anyone I might otherwise help, instruct or encourage from undertaking covert surveillance. If you've watched the film ‘Supersize Me’ or read the books ‘McLibel’ and ‘Buying Silence’ you'll know how massive corporations work so hard to stifle and silence public criticism. I firmly believe that these lawsuits have fundamentally been brought to protect these companies from reputational damage rather than being to ensure the health and safety of their operations.”
It's going to be an interesting week - off to Edinburgh to face salmon giant Mowi in the Sheriff Appeal Court. Please help stop Norwegian-owned companies using the Scottish courts to shut down secret filming at salmon farms across Scotland! https://t.co/UIjV2C3NHP#Mowi#SLAPPpic.twitter.com/relKXNqg5X
"Anti-salmon farming activist Don Staniford will attempt to overturn a court ban on his covert visits to Mowi Scotland’s fish farms at an appeal hearing" @salmonfarming1 "A one-day hearing will be held in Parliament House on February 1" https://t.co/QGf8g5KFdf@MowiScotlandLtd
“Salmon farmers must be forced to publicly report data on deaths of cleaner fish on salmon farms,” said Don Staniford, director of $camon $cotland. “Welfare audits – including observers on Thermolicer boats – should be conducted as a matter of urgency to save the millions of lumpfish and wrasse suffering unnecessarily and dying cruel deaths in de-licing torture chambers. This shocking video footage is the last nail in the coffin for the Thermolicer in Scotland. Mowi is the king of cruelty and must be stopped dead in its tracks. Norwegian companies such as Mowi and Norskott Havbruk (Scottish Sea Farms) must follow the practice back home in Norway whereby cleaner fish are removed prior to mechanical treatment. It is only a matter of time before Scottish Ministers ban de-licing machines. The use of Thermolicers – whether used with cleaner fish or just salmon – represents a clear breach of welfare laws and is ethically bankrupt.”
Today (20 January 2024), I launched a Crowd Justice campaign to raise money to fight off legal action by the Norwegian-owned salmon giants Mowi, Norskott Havbruk (Scottish Sea Farms) and Bakkafrost.
Please help stop Norwegian-owned companies using the Scottish courts to shut down secret filming at salmon farms across Scotland! @CrowdJusticehttps://t.co/UIjV2C3NHP
"Anti-salmon farming activist Don Staniford will attempt to overturn a court ban on his covert visits to Mowi Scotland’s fish farms at an appeal hearing" @salmonfarming1 "A one-day hearing will be held in Parliament House on February 1" https://t.co/QGf8g5KFdf@MowiScotlandLtd
If you've watched the film ‘Supersize Me’ or read the books ‘McLibel’ & ‘Buying Silence’ you'll know how massive corporations work so hard to stifle & silence public criticism. Public scrutiny is vital in ground-truthing the greenwashing of salmon farming! https://t.co/UIjV2C3NHP
Here's exclusive video footage of a Thermolicer being used in June and July 2023 at Mowi's RSPCA Assured, ASC-certified and 'organic' salmon farm at Camas Glas in Loch Sunart:
Going viral on social media is a surreal experience - so elusive it is impossible to package and difficult to repeat. I have no idea how this video footage - shot back in 2020 - went viral but it shows the power of Twitter:
Watch what happens when a concerned local living next to a salmon farm in Loch Tralaig asks workers about diseased fish & toxic chemicals: "You c**t - I will f**king murder the f**k out of you. You f**king film me again I will f**k you up you c**t" says the potty-mouthed fish… pic.twitter.com/IY07CEs5fW
Maybe it's the Netflix effect? Or perhaps the tide really has turned against toxic salmon farming? Whatever the case, other Tweets are getting way more traction on Twitter:
Video of @PoliceScotland caught acting as private security for the Norwegian $almafia @scotseafarms "I don't appreciate you being here [in public waters in Loch Linnhe] unless you've had permission from Scottish Sea Farms. I don't need a regulation" warns the Police constable pic.twitter.com/JkAvTo7J3Y
What was the most surprising fact on salmon farming in the Netflix doc out today "You are what you eat"? The high fat content & the chemicals stored there should be enough to end the industry overnight. If only people knew! pic.twitter.com/5bRocXd7yX
Even if some vegan advertising is way too close to the bone for comfort and it leaves a bad taste in the mouth (I guess that's the whole point).
As a bullish Taurean (born in Mercury retrograde under an Aquarius blue moon rising in Uranus), I don't naturally like being told what to do. Those Veganti-christs who preach the gospel of veganism like a rabid Billy Graham frothing lentils out of his mouth really fish me off. That said, I really must thank the Lebanese Vegans for their stomach-churning imagery and finger-licking falafel, baba ghanouj and hummus recipes. In the war on terror, veganism is fighting back and I want to be on the right side of history.
I remember watching 'The Meatrix' when it came out 20 years ago but I must have blindly taken the blue pill not the red pill (I blame too many Red Bulls & Moscow mule vodkas).
It's a bitter pill to swallow for many carnists but the bloody good advertising from the Veganarchists has the power to change hearts and minds. Seeing is believing.
There is nobody better than PETA when it comes to ramming the message down your throat - and making you sea things in a different light.
Eating meat takes on a different perspective. It's certainly not subtle but it's powerful and persuasive.
Going vegan has been an eye-opening experience. Once you see the animal cruelty on your plate you simply cannot un-see it - please open up your mind! https://t.co/NI7pkQWvB5pic.twitter.com/FVJDbYLnxt
I've only ever gone to Burger King when blind drunk but the truth about how food reaches our plates is enough to sober anyone up.
I feel as if 'Veganuary' has rebooted the hard drive in my brain. Change can be for the better but learning new things can also be scary, especially for old dogs like me. My new routine is like something out of 'Ready Steady Cook' as I trawl through the veggie box deciding how the fuck I am going to cook yet another celeriac. On the positive side, if my son loses yet another football over the neighbour's fence we have ready made replacements on the subs bench.
On Monday, I was like a little kid smiling when I saw next week's Riverford delivery does not include the ugly beast.
That evening I celebrated by eating a whole tub of Ben & Jerry's vegan ice cream.
And tonight I will be watching Netflix whilst trying out a new vegan flavour - Veganuary is best served chilled.
Celeriac and ice-cream aside, there are some hugely positive feedback loops. I'm spending more time cooking and more time thinking about what I'm eating. Food wastage is going down and healthy food consumption is going up. I'm now drinking less tea and coffee and slupring down more green smoothies. Whilst the celeriac monstrosities gather dust in the veggie box, the soup-maker is working overtime even if my electricity is strictly not vegan.
Some feedback loops may not be that positive but it's nice to know the Spaghetti Hoops come in a vegan version - even if drowning them in Cheddar cheese (as my mum used to do growing up) is not a vegan option.
I'm still sceptical about claims that going vegan can stop the destruction of the Brazilian rainforest.
Doesn't soy production promote not prevent deforestation?
And the use of palm oil in vegan products is the orangutan in the room. "Palm oil is technically suitable for a vegan diet as it is derived from plants and is free from animal products," explains Lex Rigby of Viva. "However, due to the devastating impact palm oil production has on the environment and animals, it’s up to the individual whether or not they choose to avoid it."
Thankfully, high profile vegans like Lex Rigby, Chris Packham and Dale Vince are making waves against the devastating welfare and environmental impacts of salmon farming.
I stand by it... Scottish salmon farming is a stomach-churning disaster!
Supermarkets label their products as ‘responsibly sourced’ but there is nothing more irresponsible than allowing this industry to continue causing astronomical harm.@vivacampaigns@TheGAAIApic.twitter.com/jlSLBtAyzs
Salmon Farming is factory farming and has all the problems of the land based version - plus poisoning of wildlife and an incredible ‘death in custody’ rate. 14 million Salmon died in custody on Scottish farms this year already. Our video exposé shows just how disgusting… pic.twitter.com/mItzcBcMpG
Have a ‘lousey’ Christmas – the dirty , unsustainable , truth about salmon farming as uncovered by @DaleVince . His investigation shows barbaric practices , disease and use of poisons . pic.twitter.com/TeC45dM6tK
The tide really is turning against salmon farming - thanks to vegan activists working in concert with environmental and welfare activists. And we're making one hell of a noise. As I've successfully navigated the first half of Veganuary, the soundtrack of my life has turned from the Ice T’s ‘Original Gangster’ to Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ On a Prayer’. Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear. Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer.
Next week is one week closer to the end of Veganuary and the start of the rest of my vegan life. I've already planned our Burn's Night celebration meal!
But I may give the celeriac and haggis-flavoured ice-cream a miss.
Thanks to Netflix's 'You Are What You Eat' I’ve finally made the leap to becoming vegan. I signed onto ‘Veganuary’ @veganuary and plan to stick with it (although my addiction to cheese and Curly Wurly bars is proving a challenge) More details via https://t.co/RXpzEbFk1Ypic.twitter.com/5DvU9unT3I
Data published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate on 3 January 2024 detailed 1,471 'Mortality Event Reports' for Bakkafrost (formerly called The Scottish Salmon Company) since May 2015 totalling a staggering 22.2 million dead salmon. Here are the worst Bakkafrost mortality cases in hatcheries, freshwater lochs and sea lochs - headed by Applecross Hatchery:
EXPOSED: Bakkafrost (Scottish Salmon Co) has filed 1,471 'Mortality Event Reports' with @ScotGovMarine since 2015 involving 22.2 million dead salmon - including over 4 million deaths at Applecross. Nothing to see here as Bakkafrost is @rspcaassured & marketed as 'responsible' pic.twitter.com/hYoI04bqpl
Bakkafrost's Applecross Hatchery (also known as Russel Burn) is the second most deadly salmon farm in Scotland - behind only Mowi's Inchmore death trap:
$camon $cotland posted further video footage shot at Loch Duart in August 2023:
Can anyone at @NOAA confirm that this TAST device is approved under Marine Mammals Protection Act? Our understanding is that any method has to be effective, so a device that actually attracts seals rather than deter them surely isn't "effective"?? https://t.co/icgcVL0NeU
Selfridges has been told to remove misleading claims about the sustainability of farmed salmon sold in its flagship London store.
The retailer was forced to remove a promotional board from its Oxford Street fish counter this week after an intervention by Westminster City Council.
Customers had been led to believe that all farmed fish sold in the branch was “sustainable” and reared in closed-loop systems, which are usually located on land to minimise environmental impact.
The salmon, sold by Selfridges, is produce from Loch Duart, a fish farmer based in the Scottish Highlands. Its salmon has been served at Wimbledon and by celebrity chefs such as Rick Stein and Raymond Blanc.
Don Staniford, a veteran campaigner, had accused Selfridges of “deceiving” customers and pointed to a 2019 ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that Loch Duart should not promote itself as sustainable after it upheld concerns over the environmental impacts of fish farming.
Mr Staniford also highlighted that Loch Duart rears salmon in open cages located in coastal waters, leaving fish vulnerable to attacks and infection from other creatures, not contained systems as Selfridges suggested.
In a complaint lodged on Tuesday with Westminster City Council, Staniford said: “It seems clear that over four years later Selfridges and its supplier did not get the memo and enforcement action is required.”
‘Wounds, gashes and cuts consistent with seal attacks’
An environmental health officer assured Mr Staniford on Thursday that Selfridges had pulled down the board in light of his complaint.
In an email, the council official stated that Selfridges staff “are investigating the matter and have taken immediate action at my request to remove the claim”.
Mr Staniford welcomed the council’s intervention, adding: “No amount of greenwashing will alter the fact that salmon farming is inherently unsustainable. This victory is a shot across the bow of retailers who continue to make false green claims about ‘responsibly sourced’ Scottish salmon.”
In 2019, Fishy Business, an anti-fish-farming blogger, complained to the ASA that an image on Loch Duart’s website describing the company as sustainable was inaccurate because of the environmental damage caused by salmon farms.
The ASA ruled that the complaint was “valid” and asked Loch Duart to make changes. The company promised to stop claiming to be sustainable and the ASA closed the case without launching a formal investigation.
Mr Staniford said fish farming in coastal areas is not sustainable because many fish die from illness and disease. Farmed salmon can also be exposed to attacks by seals.
He claims to have uncovered mass mortalities at Loch Duart’s Reintraid salmon farm in Loch a Chairn Bhain near Kylesku in Sutherland during an investigation in August.
He alleges that video footage suggests “wounds, gashes and cuts consistent with seal attacks”.
Loch Duart declined to comment.
Selfridges has been approached for comment.
Staniford claims to have uncovered mass mortalities at Loch Duart’s Reintraid salmon farm during an investigation in August. He alleges that video footage suggests “wounds, gashes & cuts consistent with seal attacks”. Loch Duart declined to comment https://t.co/qvIk8nxNcO
I’ve finally made the leap to becoming vegan just at the right time. Netflix’s ‘You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment’ provides the perfect backdrop to radically overhaul our relationship with food and venturing towards veganism. For a lifelong meat eater – save a vegetarian sabbatical in my 20s – it’s a significant lifestyle change at the ripe old age of 52.
‘Veganuary’ – coincidentally launched on the same day as the Netflix documentary – could not have been timed any better. It’s almost as if there’s a global conspiracy to make us all go vegan! If there is then it’s something I’ve fallen hook like a sinker for. I signed onto ‘Veganuary’ just before midnight on New Year’s Eve and I hadn’t even been drinking (I may have been eating cheese but that would be telling).
With the benefit of hindsight though, going cold tofurkey during the Xmas school holidays with a nasty dose of man flu (perhaps even Covid) was not ideal. Yet, a week later I have emerged from a mid-week wobble to feel if not physically energized but mentally recharged. The subliminal and not so subtle pro-vegan messages – and even vegan survival packs sent in the post (thanks Jackie and Andrew) – have turned the tide.
2024 is already shaping up to be the year that plant-based diets kick meat and fish off the menu and off people’s tables. Netflix’s worldwide smash – ‘You Are What You Eat’ - quickly leapt to #2 in the US, UK, Australia, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden after its launch on 1 January. The four-part documentary – directed by Oscar-winner, Louie Psihoyos who won his Academy Award for ‘The Cove’ and also directed ‘Racing Extinction’ – has been lambasted by some critics as a shameless plug for veganism but lauded by others as essential viewing. If 'You Are What You Eat' is propaganda then it is extremely slick and something to savour.
“Mind-bogglingly good Netflix documentary experimenting on twins has people rethinking their whole life,” reported Lad Bible (7 January). “If you were tempted by a plant-based lifestyle in 2024 but didn't reckon you'd be able to resist a fish and chip supper or a meatalicious pizza, Netflix has launched a brand new vegan-friendly experimental series that has already changed the lives of millions of viewers.”
“A new vegan-friendly experimental documentary series has recently landed on Netflix, and viewers have decided to make profound life changes after watching it,” reported The Sun (8 January). “One user penned: "You Are What You Eat on Netflix was mind-bogglingly good. Like actually making me want to consider going fully vegan." Another added: "Watching You Are What You Eat on Netflix… and am now seriously considering eating little to no red meat from now on." A third wrote: “Watching You Are What You Eat on Netflix and it’s making me rethink my whole life. I’m so grateful we found a local farm to get our meat and produce from. It’s all so scary." A fourth admitted: “Ngl, after seeing the background on these farms who supply the beef and chicken, etc, I’m much more open to trying a vegan diet.”
What was the most surprising fact on salmon farming in the Netflix doc out today "You are what you eat"? The high fat content & the chemicals stored there should be enough to end the industry overnight. If only people knew! pic.twitter.com/5bRocXd7yX
The Herald newspaper in Scotland questioned whether it was the end for farmed fish. “Watch, for instance, Netflix’s You Are What You Eat, and you’ll see salmon farms framed as part of a global health and environment problem alongside the likes of intensive hog rearing, chicken farming and feedlots,” wrote Vicky Allan (5 January). “You Are What You Eat shifts the conversation. It's no longer about whether salmon is better than beef, or what meat is the most sustainable - an argument in which salmon tends to come out very well. It's about whether plant is better than fish for both planet and human health - and that is part of a much bigger debate.”
In Norway, home to the $almafia and by far the world’s largest salmon farming nation the debate is raging too with 'You Are What You Eat' rising to #2 on Netflix.
“Farmed salmon gets tough hit in new Netflix documentary” reported (8 January) Norway's largest business newspaper, E24. “While New Year's resolutions are still fresh, Netflix is launching the series "You Become What You Eat: A Twin Experiment." At the start of the weekend, the series was second to the top of Netflix's top list both in Norway and a number of other countries.”
Since I make an appearance – speaking out against the evils of salmon farming in Episode 3 and cracking a terrible mother-in-law joke in Episode 2 – an unbiased view is not possible.
The feedback, however, is overwhelmingly positive with plant-based options now going mainstream in the media.
“The foundational data certainly makes a case for leaning into a plant-based diet, but the tone of the show never strays into vegan evangelism,” reported SFGATE (7 January). “The show has been a veritable hit for Netflix, claiming a high spot in the service's Top 10 list since its release on January 1. Without any spoilers, the experience had enough of an effect on the subjects that most of them tempered their meat intake.”
Time magazine reported (3 January): “It’s no secret that fruits and veggies are good for you. But a new Netflix show, You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment, shows just how powerful—and fast-acting—they can be. The show features pairs of adult identical twins who participated in a study published in November 2023. For eight weeks, everyone in the study ate a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes and low in sugars and refined starches. But one twin from each pair was assigned to eat only these plant-based foods, while the other also ate animal products such as chicken, fish, eggs, and dairy. Both groups saw improvements in their cholesterol levels and modest reductions in weight over the eight weeks, but those trends were more dramatic among twins who followed the vegan diet. Average fasting insulin levels—another marker of cardiometabolic health—also dropped among the vegan, but not omnivorous, twins. “This suggests that anyone who chooses a vegan diet can improve their long-term health in two months,” Christopher Gardner, a Stanford University professor and senior author of the study, said in a statement. And, Gardner added, following a vegan diet may not be as difficult as many people imagine: 21 of the 22 twins assigned to that eating plan stuck with it for all eight weeks.”
My mid-week wobble was triggered by an unhealthy obsession with cheese which extends all the way from my feet to my middle-aged Homer Simpson waistline (not a good look in a wetsuit) and up to the cheesy jokes which spew out of my potty mouth.
Watching friends and family gorge on Cambozola, French Brie and Manchego festive leftovers was like Gromit subjecting Wallace to cheese-board torture and a barrage of Gorgonzola gags.
How the ‘Cheese Twins’ – who feature in Netflix’s ‘You Are What You Eat’ – weaned off real cheese and onto vegan cheese is a mystery I would love to hire Scooby Doo to solve. Does anyone know the secret recipe for a yummy vegan version of a Scooby sandwich?
My personal experience with vegan cheese – a far from fantastic plastic monstrosity – grates and sticks in the throat. Even the ‘Cathedral City’ vegan option – recommended by many veganatics – is ruled out purely on environmental grounds. Going vegan and going green may ideally be in the same general direction but it is not always going to exactly the same destination.
Finding the sweet spot – the acceptable trade-off between the environment, animal welfare and health - is going to my personal challenge in 2024. I refuse to buy ‘ethical’ vegan products shipped from Chile or China in plastic containers or fake vegan products which taste worse than rubber and are less healthy too. Supporting local producers, minimizing both food miles and environmental impacts whilst maximizing nutritional benefits without being ridiculously expensive is the overarching goal.
Supermarkets which hold vegans to hostage with plastic packaging, products imported from thousands of miles away with dubious green and health credentials and with prices at three times as high as non-vegan alternatives are giving veganism a bad name.
And supporting fast-food giants like McDonald's and Burger King just because they offer vegan options is a recipe for environmental and health disaster. I'm not lovin' how veganism is being hijacked by unhealthy big business. It seems counter-intuitive and counter-productive for vegans to boycott meat but financially support companies killing millions of cows, chickens and other animals with their custom.
On Day 1, I made the schoolboy error of not having any vegan food in the fridge or freezer except cans of beans and stale bread. There are only so many meals of baked beans on toast that I can stomach. On Day 2, I double-downed on my mistake by buying fake vegan foods which even my dog let alone the kids refused to eat.
No joke, I wouldn’t serve vegan salmon to anyone even Mowi’s director of communications, Ian Roberts, or $almafia shill Tavish Scott. Fake vegan salmon like fake farmed salmon belongs in the bin not your shopping basket.
Mercifully, on Day 3 I had a Eureka moment and ordered an organic fruit and vegetable box delivered to my door from Riverford (expensive but it means I don’t have to leave the house for a week which is a win when you look like a cross between Tom Hanks in 'Castaway' and the Unabomber).
Coupled with a new soup maker, an old slow-cooker dusted down from the back of the cupboard and my bread-making gear from lockdown I now have all the ingredients for vegan success: borscht, pierogies (Lazy Cat Kitchen does an excellent recipe), lentil daal and home-made loaves, chapattis and bagels.
Milk in tea and coffee and on breakfast cereal is a daily challenge but I think I'm getting there with the help of oats.
A 40-year addiction to Curly Wurly bars (caramel perfection coated in Cadbury chocolate bliss) is a sticky issue though and I’ve yet to find an alternative other than abstinence. If anyone has a solution – a heavenly vegan caramel bar which makes you want to swallow not spit – please do let me know. I blame the Mad Men of the 1970s.
Swapping dairy products for sugary sweets may lead to fewer visits to the doctor but certainly not the dentist. My cheese and Curly Wurly addictions have now been replaced by a rabid Fruit-tella fixation which starts mid-morning and rears its ugly head again in the early evening. Switching from high cholesterol to a dose of diabetes may not be what the doctor or dentist ordered but it may help me at next week's Weight Watchers weigh-in.
Looking beyond ‘Veganuary’, if I keep following a much healthier vegan diet I will hopefully lose 30 lbs long before I lose my mind and all my teeth. This ‘Kayak Vigilante’ could really do with carrying less weight on the water this Summer.
And think of all the animals being saved. Thanks to vegan vigilantes like Jamie Moyes, Ash Vara, Marcus Emmerson, Abi Penny and Lex Rigby I now hear the screams of animals and see their blood dripping when I look at a menu or go shopping in the supermarket.
Like the roof of my mouth and my teeth after eating a fake cheese toastie (although I’ve not yet tried the treats on offer from 'vegan cheese queen' - Miyoko Schinner), veganism is something which I plan to stick with way beyond the end of January. Armed with Animal Equality's 'Love Veg' cookbook and Viva's 'Veganism 101' I feel more supported and empowered than ever.
2024 is only a week old but we're already making waves.
Thanks to Netflix's 'You Are What You Eat' I’ve finally made the leap to becoming vegan. I signed onto ‘Veganuary’ @veganuary and plan to stick with it (although my addiction to cheese and Curly Wurly bars is proving a challenge) More details via https://t.co/RXpzEbFk1Ypic.twitter.com/5DvU9unT3I
Vicky Allan @heraldscotland: "The Scottish salmon industry is under fire. You would think, watching two international documentary series featuring segments on salmon farming, that it was at the point of having to dramatically change or die" @netflixhttps://t.co/ZmmUNpQonmpic.twitter.com/ujns4TJ7yb
Norway's largest business newspaper @e24 reporting on Netflix's new documentary 'You Are What You Eat'. "It's like comparing Usain Bolt to a couch potato that sits all day," said Don Staniford of the relationship between wild salmon and farmed salmon https://t.co/DyTqIAYpv1pic.twitter.com/4scWfEUKLd
Vicky Allan @heraldscotland: "The Scottish salmon industry is under fire. You would think, watching two international documentary series featuring segments on salmon farming, that it was at the point of having to dramatically change or die" @netflixhttps://t.co/ZmmUNpQonmpic.twitter.com/ujns4TJ7yb
Vicky Allan @heraldscotland: "The Scottish salmon industry is under fire. You would think, watching two international documentary series featuring segments on salmon farming, that it was at the point of having to dramatically change or die" @netflixhttps://t.co/ZmmUNpQonmpic.twitter.com/ujns4TJ7yb
"The politics around salmon farming counts as much as our appetite for the fish, and in Scotland that means getting behind calls like that by @scotgp, for Scottish salmon farm operations 'to be reviewed as a matter of urgency'. We are what we eat - but also what we vote for." pic.twitter.com/55klW8T1f5
"Don Staniford, described as the 'OG' of anti-salmon farm activism in The Changemakers & the man behind 'zombie' salmon footage that went viral this year" @heraldscotlandhttps://t.co/ZmmUNpQonm
What was the most surprising fact on salmon farming in the Netflix doc out today "You are what you eat"? The high fat content & the chemicals stored there should be enough to end the industry overnight. If only people knew! pic.twitter.com/5bRocXd7yX
Listening to 'O.G. Original Gangster': "I ain't no super hero, I ain't no Marvel Comic, But when it comes to game I'm atomic At droppin' it straight, Point blank and untwisted....He's not your everyday-type Prankster. I'm Ice-T, the original gangster"https://t.co/izTKoCmtBH
"Don Staniford, described as the 'OG' of anti-salmon farm activism in The Changemakers & the man behind 'zombie' salmon footage that went viral this year" @heraldscotlandhttps://t.co/ZmmUNpQonm
Chief $almafia shill Tavish Scott "let his PR face slip" @paramount "Tavish was a champion condescender" says Jean Moffat. "We're not able to find compromise right now which shows the need to go further....more direct action" says @sean_binder_https://t.co/Lc90D7uqPrpic.twitter.com/11KIpf4EgJ
Leafing through press cuttings over the last twelve months is like reading an obituary for Scottish salmon. 2023 will be looked back on as the year that salmon farming in Scotland died a cruel death - killed by the video camera, drones and covert surveillance:
If salmon farmers wished the New Year would bring a glimmer of hope they are utterly wrong. In the first few days of 2024, @paramountplus & @netflix have hit the $almafia with a double whammy which would floor both Tyson Fury & Ken Buchanan. Salmon farming is dead in the water! pic.twitter.com/nrCW0YNCpd
"Dead in the water" reported The Daily Record (30 May). "Damming images of diseased salmon and grisly evidence of ‘gruesome suffering’ in the Scottish fish farm which supplies M&S raises questions about future of our biggest food export".
Another of Scotland's dirty little secrets, salmon farming.
Watch video footage shot at the RSPCA Assured salmon farm operated by M&S supplier Scottish Sea Farms (Norskott Havbruk) at Shuna Point in Loch Linnhe online here
Read Scotland On Sunday's web version - with exclusive video - online here
The Sunday Mail broke a world exclusive in late July – sourced from covert surveillance inside Bakkafrost's Portree salmon farm off the Isle of Skye:
The online news article featured video footage of ‘zombie’ salmon shot at Bakkafrost’s RSPCA Assured Portree salmon farm off the Isle of Skye in late June 2023:
Disturbing 'zombie salmon' video at Scots fish farm sparks welfare investigationhttps://t.co/NBurKLTnlg
The Daily Record reported (16 August) on Cooke Aquaculture – certified as ‘organic’ by the Soil Association – polluting Loch Fyne via salmon farm wastes dumped into Kinglas Water:
Campaigner Don Staniford @TheGAAIA who discovered the scene said salmon farm companies across Scotland are ‘shamefully dumping effluents’ in our waters.
2023 was such an annus horribilis for the 'Scottish' salmon farming industry that $almafia leaders like Tavish Scott - the chief shill at Salmon Scotland - could be forgiven for thinking that 2024 would offer fresh hope and optimism. However, two new shows premiering today (1 January 2024) on Netflix and Paramount provide yet more evidence that salmon farming in Scotland is dead in the water and is plunging even deeper into the abyss!
Paramount's 'The Changemakers' features a whole episode on the 'extreme activists' opposing salmon farming in Scotland - featuring Jean Moffat (a 75-year old grandmother from the Isle of Bute), Wendy Elves (a resident of the Island of Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands who has the misfortune to have a Cooke-owned salmon farm just a javelin throw from the end of her garden), crusading film-maker Corin Smith, wild salmon advocate Matt Palmer and chief shill for the $almafia, Tavish Scott.
Chief $almafia shill Tavish Scott "let his PR face slip" @paramount "Tavish was a champion condescender" says Jean Moffat. "We're not able to find compromise right now which shows the need to go further....more direct action" says @sean_binder_https://t.co/Lc90D7uqPrpic.twitter.com/11KIpf4EgJ
"What Wendy & Catherine are doing here on this island comes with big risks - there is ostracism, the way communities are split apart by this conversation" says @sean_binder_ "It's goes beyond a salmon farm per se"https://t.co/Lc90D7uqPrpic.twitter.com/jRTHjhvQTx
"It's been exhausting" says Wendy Elves of Papa Westray (who is fighting @CookeScotland salmon farming) "But we're not doing it for us. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't carry on down this route. It brings a certain emotion in me - we can't stop" https://t.co/Lc90D7uqPrpic.twitter.com/BNNeIa0jjp
Netflix's 'You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment' showcases the ugly side of Scottish salmon - with Mowi's 'responsibly sourced' Scottish salmon featured in a promotional photo:
What was the most surprising fact on salmon farming in the Netflix doc out today "You are what you eat"? The high fat content & the chemicals stored there should be enough to end the industry overnight. If only people knew! pic.twitter.com/5bRocXd7yX
Netflix "You are what you eat" which dropped yesterday is now in top 10 UK programmes. This may well be a blow the salmon farmers can't recover from. Retail salmon sales were already down nearly 10% this year by weight. pic.twitter.com/zqTPCDOJQ7
Netflix's 'You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment' has leapt like a wild salmon up to #2 in the UK, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Iceland & the US Watch if you can stomach the fatty & contaminated welfare nightmare of pharmed salmon (& my ugly mug)! https://t.co/qpaqCZvwdu@netflixpic.twitter.com/hzgmE4IQnS
