CENTRE BURLINGTON—Animal Justice has filed a legal complaint with provincial authorities over disturbing footage and an eyewitness account of fishes being stomped on and otherwise killed cruelly and unlawfully at Sustainable Blue, a land-based salmon farm in Centre Burlington, Nova Scotia.
Video captured earlier this month by a former Sustainable Blue worker and shared with Animal Justice shows an employee stomping on the head of a live fish to kill it, and another whacking fishes against metal surfaces in an attempt to kill them.
A supervisor admitted to the whistleblower that no protocols or training exist for killing fishes at the facility, stating that there was “no right way” or “wrong way” to kill them. The worker who recorded the video found Sustainable Blue’s practices troubling and quit the company.
Animal Justice believes these killing methods are a clear violation of Nova Scotia’s Animal Protection Act, which prohibits causing distress to animals—including fishes—and potentially the Criminal Code, which prohibits causing unnecessary suffering to animals. The Act contains no exemptions for fish farming practices, and the salmon farming industry’s own guidelines explicitly prohibit blunt force trauma as a sole killing method, requiring a secondary step to ensure the death of a fish.
Sustainable Blue promotes itself as a sustainable and responsible operation, publicly claiming its staff works to ensure its fishes “are healthy and happy 24/7.”
”Sustainable Blue claims to ‘raise the world’s finest Atlantic salmon’, but behind this slick marketing is the brutal reality of fishes being stomped and beaten,” said Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director at Animal Justice. “Fishes are sentient animals and they are protected by law from experiencing suffering. We are urging authorities to act swiftly to hold Sustainable Blue to account for these brutal killings and prevent further and ongoing violations of the law.”
Based on responses received following Animal Justice’s complaint to the Nova Scotia SPCA, which is one of the bodies responsible for animal welfare under provincial legislation, there appears to be uncertainty over which provincial authority is tasked with ensuring the welfare of fishes at aquaculture facilities.
“It’s concerning that there seems to be jurisdictional confusion over something as serious as illegal animal cruelty,” Ms. Labchuk said.
In November 2023, 96,000 salmons died at Sustainable Blue after a carbon dioxide filter failed, costing the company $5 million and forcing the firm into receivership.
Clips from the whistleblower’s video can be found here.
Contact:
Josh Lynn
Public Relations Manager
[email protected]
Camille Labchuk
Executive Director
[email protected]
