Animal Equality says two surprise inspections in three years suggests ‘embarrassingly poor’ level of scrutiny
Scottish salmon farmers recorded more than 35m unexpected salmon deaths in just under three years but there were only two unannounced inspections of facilities over the same period.
In December, the Scottish government’s secretary for rural affairs, Mairi Gougeon, said that there was “a really robust regulatory regime when it comes to fin-fish aquaculture” but animal welfare campaigners say the figures call that claim into question.
According to a freedom of information request by Animal Equality UK, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), which is responsible for enforcing welfare legislation, inspected just 21 of Scotland’s 213 active salmon farms, between January 2023 and October 2025. None of the 20 worst-performing sites, which together accounted for more than 10m deaths, were inspected.
Additionally, the Scottish government’s website says that unannounced inspections are a “statutory requirement” but only two were carried out between January 2023 and September 2025, both of which were in 2024.
