Farmed fish advocacy in Denmark (Animal Ask)

In this report, we identify the top opportunities for improving the lives and welfare of farmed fish in Denmark.

To improve the lives of fish, it is important to focus on the asks that will bring about the biggest improvements in the lives of fish for a given investment of effort. One part of this is reaching as many fish as possible. By far, the groups of farmed fish with the highest numbers in Denmark are a) fish living on freshwater farms, and b) juvenile fish. Therefore, improving the lives of these two groups of farmed fish is a priority. Almost all farmed fish in Denmark are rainbow trout.

With this in mind, we have identified two main priority asks.

1. Welfare reform for freshwater trout farms. This ask would aim to improve the welfare of trout on freshwater farms. In the Danish trout industry, the freshwater farm stage is home to 105 million individual trout every year. So, this ask could secure comprehensive welfare improvements for an immense number of fish. This ask would probably involve legislative lobbying to establish new regulations, and the first step would be to visit farms and obtain data on a collection of welfare indicators.
2. Lobby for inquiry into juvenile trout welfare. This ask would involve lobbying the government to conduct an inquiry into the welfare of juvenile fish in Denmark. This would, in turn, get the industry to release more information on juvenile fish welfare and monitor the welfare of juvenile fish in the future. Every year, the industry produces roughly 148 million fingerlings and even more fry than this. The animal advocacy movement has recently turned its attention to juvenile fish, such as the work of the Norwegian Animal Protection Alliance, though campaigns are hindered by a lack of an evidence base. As a result, this ask could not only improve the lives of an immense number of fish in Denmark but also support future campaigns around the world.

There are a few smaller asks that would also be overall positive for the lives of fish, though the total benefit would be lower. These could be run as smaller campaigns, perhaps to secure some victories while the main campaigns are being run. These asks are: 1) increase the uptake of humane trout slaughter by farms; 2) encourage retailers to choose certification schemes that are focused on welfare; and 3) ban the live export of trout.

We also provide a detailed analysis of the context of Danish fish farming and detailed information about the industry, which will assist animal advocacy organisations in any campaign on fish welfare.