He Animal Welfare Observatory (OBA), an animal rights association that investigates and evaluates the treatment conditions for animals for human consumption, has denounced the company Piszolla for irregularities in the slaughter of fish in its fish farms. He has done so before the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Junta de Castilla y León, an administrative complaint with a request for inspection. The group states that the entity “is not using percussive and electrical methods as a method of stunning fish at the time of slaughter”, European regulations to prevent the suffering of trout raised in captivity. Electronarcosis involves stunning the specimens to guarantee the well-being of the fish until the moment of their death. Piszolla, belonging to the French multinational parent company Aqualande, maintains that they do apply them in France and that, after verifying their efficiency, they will soon install the technology in their plant in Alba de Tormes (Salamanca). The OBA claims that the company manages more fish farms and should apply them to more facilities.
The association criticizes that the denounced group admits in emails included in the complaint that the electronarcosis process “will be implemented in 2025 and 2026 in our centers in Illana and Fuentidueña”, two of its farms, synonymous with the fact that it is not done now. According to activists, “Piszolla is not effectively stunning its fish,” because in some of its facilities they use ozone or carbon dioxide, although smaller specimens of rainbow trout are placed in ice as a means of stunning. The OBA insists that scientific documentation affects the damage and pain that this attempt to freeze can cause to fish. This route does not always achieve its objective of leaving them confused or paralyzed and they arrive at the slaughter section with enough awareness to suffer outside the standards recognized by community animal welfare regulations in the consumption chain.
The practice of freezing, the complainants explain in a statement, “consists of submerging live fish in a mixture of ice and water, or in ice directly, which causes the death of the animals due to hypothermia or asphyxiation. Because cooling reduces metabolic rate and oxygen needs, it can prolong dying, and some cold-adapted species take more than an hour to die.” Thus, they have videos recorded at the Alba de Tormes fish farm in Salamanca, where Piszolla workers “pile up the fish by pushing a panel into the water, so that they can be extracted faster with the machinery” and it is seen how “some fish “They arrive still conscious, moving to the bleeding phase.”
The Spanish subsidiary of the French multinational, which has about 40 plants between both countries, has facilities in Illana (Guadalajara), Fuentidueña (Segovia) and Encinas de Arriba and Alba de Tormes (Salamanca). Míriam Martínez, head of fish welfare at OBA, urges those involved to modify this strategy in their fish farms: “Piszolla must stop this suffering and change its practices urgently. Prolonging the suffering of these animals in their final moments is cruel and a solution must be found now.”
EL PAÍS has contacted Piszolla to find out his position regarding the association’s movement. Spokespersons for the company respond by email that “our stunning and slaughter methods are completely legal, since we comply with the applicable regulations in Europe as well as the different transpositions that exist at the national level” and they defend themselves by arguing that they have never had sanctions or notices for non-compliance with these regulations. Likewise, they claim to pass certifications on animal welfare both in death and in the complete breeding process.
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The corporate response indicates that in 2022 they implemented electronarcosis in France and that since then “we have been able to collect objective data that the system is robust and works efficiently.” After evaluating this resource and studying the possibilities to reduce the suffering of the fish, they announce that in the coming weeks “the installation of an electronarcosis system will begin in our processing room in Alba de Tormes.” Piszolla accuses the OBA of trying to “intimidate” through coordinated emails to spread a statement with “SU [sic] commitment to welfare in the slaughter of fish in our media.” Aqualande and Piszolla, they add, do not publish “third party communications.” The company, they conclude, has warned the complainants that “in the event that our reputation is falsely damaged in the eyes of our clients and consumers, and that in fact they pose an economic risk to our company, due to defamation, we will take legal action.” against those who do it.”
Míriam Martínez, in response to Piszolla’s response, celebrates that there is a commitment to incorporate stunning on her farm in Alba de Tormes: “This means that they recognize that until now they were not doing it.” Therefore, he demands that it be extended to more facilities because until then “thousands of fish will continue to suffer.” The activist shows the exchange of emails with the other party where they communicate about the matter and Piszolla claimed to give responses within 10 days, something that never came, in addition to admitting that they did not yet have that technology, but that they planned to incorporate it between 2025. and 2026. Martínez denies the accusations of intimidation and emphasizes that they have requested on several occasions that the entities acquire that commitment and that they have obtained responses and deadlines that were not met. The representative of the OBA considers that if those accused have never received complaints or requests it is because “the welfare of the fish is not on the public agenda and the inspections in the fish farms do not focus there.” In conclusion, she points out that the main objective of pointing out these alleged bad practices pursues her active participation in animal welfare: “We report them so that they take it seriously and we push them to make a public commitment.”
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