The footage appears to show fish requiring multiple blows with a priest to render them insensible © Stock image from a salmon farm
The Norwegian-owned company has been the official supplier of salmon to the UK’s Royal Household since 1990, but its name is now conspicuous by its absence on the latest list of Royal Warrant holders.
The change follows the publication of undercover footage taken at Mowi’s Loch Harport site on the Isle of Skye, which appeared to show staff beating salmon to death using a heavy baton, known as a priest.
The publication of the footage in May, which was taken by a drone operated on behalf of Green Britain Foundation, had previously caused major supermarkets to temporarily take the company’s fish off their shelves, while the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) also suspended the company from its animal welfare scheme.
The loss of the Royal Warrant has been hailed by a number of individuals and organisations with an anti-fish farming agenda.
Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity and director of the Green Britain Foundation, said in a press release: “It’s good to see the King, an environmentalist, distancing himself from Mowi. A firm with a history of pollution and animal abuse has no place holding a Royal seal of approval. This decision places animal welfare and environmental responsibility firmly before corporate PR – we need more organisations to follow King Charles' lead .”
