Salmon farm at centre of cruelty allegations loses Royal Warrant

A salmon farming firm at the centre of cruelty claims has lost the Royal Warrant it has held for 35 years.

Mowi Scotland’s farm at Loch Harport on the Isle of Skye was suspended from an RSPCA welfare scheme in May over videos allegedly showing “systemic cruelty” to fish.

The warrant, which allows a firm to advertise that it supplies the Royal Household, was most recently granted to Mowi in December last year.

The Royal Warrant Holders Association declined to confirm when Mowi’s warrant was removed or the reason for its removal.

A spokesperson for Mowi Scotland said it was “honoured to have held the Royal Warrant” but said it could not comment on decisions from the Royal Household.

The Norwegian-owned firm employs about 1,500 staff in Scotland and has 48 farms that produce more than 68,000 tonnes of salmon each year.

Animal rights group Green Britain Foundation captured footage in March that it claims shows 18 incidents of animal cruelty at Loch Harport.

It said the videos show salmon being beaten and suffocated to death.

Animal welfare standards require that the time a fish spends out of water should “never exceed 15 seconds for a live fish”.

Dying fish should also be given “a non-recoverable percussive blow to the head of the fish to render it immediately insensible”.

But the campaign group said fish were being left out of the water to suffocate for minutes at a time, with some beaten several times before they died.

The RSPCA branded the videos “extremely upsetting” and suspended the farm from its assured labelling scheme.

Mowi was awarded its Royal Warrant of Appointment in 1990 when it was trading as Marine Harvest Scotland.

This permits a company to use the Royal Arms on its products.

It is granted as a mark of recognition to companies that have regularly supplied goods or services to the Royal Household.

A warrant is initially granted for up to five years, but may not be renewed if the quality or supply of the product or service is insufficient.

The Royal Warrant Holders Association declined to comment on the removal of Mowi’s Warrant.

The firm does not appear on the association’s current list of Royal Warrant holders.

Other holders of a Royal Warrant unclude BT, John Lewis and Jaguar Land Rover.