Fish investigation

Europe - 2018

In 2018, Compassion sent undercover investigators to fish farms across Europe. We discovered fish like sea bass, sea bream and trout being kept in appalling conditions.

Millions of fish are silently suffering in vast underwater factory farms across Europe. And out of sight, fish fight for their lives when being killed in ways so painful they are illegal according to European Law.

Please note: this film contains scenes that you may find distressing

Confined to concrete tanks on land or in floating ocean nets by the thousands, these fish spend their short, miserable lives swimming in cramped waters where disease and parasites can thrive. Dead fish were found floating in tanks as live ones swam around them.

Fish Slaughter

Equally shocking is the cruel way fish are killed. Sea bass and sea bream are commonly dumped into large buckets of ice slurry, where they thrash about, fighting for their lives, as ice gets lodged in their gills and they struggle to breathe. They can remain conscious throughout this ordeal, and many are still alive when they are packaged for sale.

Our team also witnessed trout flailing about in pools of bloody water after having their throats cut, a clear sign that the stunning system wasn’t working properly. This kind of suffering is illegal according to European law, which mandates animals should not suffer unnecessarily while being killed.