Ascribing sentience to fish: potential policy implications

8. Recommendations

1. Given that fish are sentient, their welfare needs should receive the same consideration in the formulation and implementation of policy as those of terrestrial vertebrate species.

2. The exclusion in section Section 47(b) of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 relating to acts carried out in the normal course of fishing should be reviewed in the light of the current scientific evidence of fish sentience.

3. In principle, fish caught at sea and in inland waters, and therefore under the control of man, should be protected from unnecessary suffering and welfare compromises.

4. Catch and release practices in game, coarse and sea angling should be given further consideration by the sports’ governing bodies and associations, in consultation with fish welfare experts.

5. Although regulation of the veterinary profession is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998, and therefore falls outside the competence of the Scottish Parliament, the definition of ‘animal’ in the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 should be amended to include birds, reptiles, fish, molluscs, crustacea and bees, consistent with the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013.

6. Specific legislative provision should be made for the welfare of farmed fin fish at the time of killing, reinforcing existing good practice and following the recommendations of the Animal Welfare Committee in 2020.

7. In circumstances where the Scottish Government has identified that its policy may have an adverse effect on animal welfare, and where there may be an impact on the welfare of fish, it should undertake and publish the results of a welfare impact assessment in order to identify the nature and extent of the possible adverse effect.

8. Since fish are sentient individuals, monitoring and measurement of fish exploitation should be done in terms of numbers rather than weight.

9. Mortality rates should be considered in ways that are consistent with the evaluation of terrestrial protected animals’ welfare. Policies and practices should aspire to minimal losses, rather than comparing mortality under human care to mortality in wild situations.

10. Statutory Codes of Practice or Scottish Government guidance for the welfare of farmed and ornamental fish should be established, to include similar issues as for other terrestrial species, such as health, water quality, enrichment, familiarity, stocking density, pain relief, handler competence, and monitoring.