The RSPCA has withdrawn its certification for Huon Aquaculture following an incident of contractors treating salmon inhumanely, throwing live fish into bins with dead salmon amidst a mass mortality event caused by an endemic bacterium in the lower D’Entrecasteaux Channel.

Footage of the incident was captured by the Bob Brown Foundation, which has welcomed the RSPCA's decision, although Huon claims the event was just a single incident of non-compliance.

RSPCA Australia CEO Richard Mussell acknowledges this was only one incident following many years of certification, but the withdrawal decision reflects how seriously the organisation takes incidents like this that compromise animal welfare.

"Fish, including those farmed for human consumption, are sentient beings and, like other animals, can experience pain and suffering," Mussell says.

"When they’re farmed for food, the welfare of fish must be front of mind.

"While today’s decision means that there are now currently no producers certified to the RSPCA Approved Standard for salmon, the standard still exists because salmon are one of the most intensively farmed animals and it’s important that we can demonstrate the measures needed to ensure their welfare is considered."

Huon Aquaculture, which was the first and only Australian salmon company to attain RSPCA certification, says it is "extremely disappointed" at the decision.

"We fully acknowledge the seriousness of the incident, which was extremely distressing to us and the community," says Hannah Gray, the company's general manager of stakeholder and government relations.

"For the past seven years, we have been farming to a standard of animal welfare that no other Australian salmon farming company has been able to achieve, and we will continue to farm to this standard."

The company claims to have immediately put steps in place to ensure contractors would uphold Huon’s high animal welfare standards.

"We are incredibly disappointed that a single incident that occurred during an unprecedented, challenging period has brought an end to our association with the RSPCA," Gray says.

"Despite our disappointment, we are committed to upholding our high standards of animal welfare and will continue to operate at levels that meet the RSCPA standards.

"Our staff who work and live in Tasmania take immense pride in their work and are understandably disappointed by the RSPCA’s decision."

The company highlights its world-leading practices including investment in land-based farming facilities to grow fish longer on land, and stocking densities in marine pens that are among the lowest in the world.

"Huon salmon remains a high quality, safe, healthy choice of protein, that is in strong demand across Australia and overseas," Gray adds.

Huon's claims of high standards are at odds with allegations from the Bob Brown Foundation, which asserts the RSPCA's decision "reflects the grim reality of factory-farmed Tasmanian salmon", describing the industry as "cruel, rogue operations that never cared about the welfare of their salmon or the environment they operate in".

"Australians now know that factory-farmed salmon is cruel, polluting and completely out of control. The RSPCA has done the right thing by dropping the certification of this awful industry," says BBF Antarctic and Marine campaigner Alistair Allan.

"Huon Aquaculture has always been synonymous with the suffering of animals, whether because of the explosive crackers they shoot at seals, the cramped factory farm conditions of their pens or letting live fish suffocate to death. Now the public knows the ugly truth of Huon Aquaculture and Tasmanian farmed salmon.

"For far too long, the industrial fish farm companies have used certifications to mislead consumers about Tasmanian factory farmed salmon."

Founded in 1986, Huon Aquaculture was acquired by Brazilian multinational and beef producer JBS for $425 million. Tasmania's largest salmon producer, Tassal, was acquired by Canadian seafood group Cooke Inc for $1.1 billion at an enterprise value of $1.7 billion.

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