Mass Seal Slaughter as RSPCA Opts to Protect Fish Farms
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [The Daily Telegraph] By Victoria Ward -- April 21, 2015
More than a quarter of the seals killed along the nation's coastline last year were shot by fish farmers accredited by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
In Scotland alone, 205 seals are known to have been legally killed to protect stocks of salmon and other fish.
Of those, 52 were shot by the animal welfare charity's Freedom Food initiative, which is dedicated to improving conditions for farm animals.
One fishing industry source said angry RSPCA members had raised the issue at their annual meeting, while campaigners claimed that the statistics could run to a greater total, as kills were not recorded in the rest of the UK.
Andy Ottaway, of the Seal Protection Action Group, said: "We are as surprised as anyone that the RSPCA allows this to happen. It should be setting the bar and demonstrating that no supplier out there should be shooting seals."
A spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said there was no justification...
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