Claims cruelty laws are being ignored in fish farm seal deaths

Animal welfare is “a priority” for the state government, says the Primary Industries and Water Minister, after shocking images emerged of seals injured near aquaculture operations. LATEST >>

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THE state government has toughened animal welfare laws in recent years and is monitoring compliance closely, Primary Industries and Water Minister Guy Barnett says.

Environment Tasmania said government documents released under Right to Information laws showed seals were dying painful deaths after being shot with beanbag rounds or hit with “crackers” to scare them away from fish farm leases.

Mr Barnett said he had not talked to the industry in the wake of the allegations, but the government had tough laws and wanted them rigorously enforced.

“Animal welfare is a priority for our government and has been for years now,” Mr Barnett said.

”We’ve toughened the laws, increased the penalties in that regard, as well. This is an important issue, and we’ll be monitoring it very carefully.

“It’s very important that the seal management framework is implemented and followed.

“Any reasons why that’s not followed, then of course that needs to be investigated and would be investigated.

“It’s a framework which sets up getting it balanced to protect the marine farm workers as well as animal welfare issues.”

A fur seal found in the Tassal Channel zone with a bean bag deterrent device stuck in its eye in 2019.

Environment Tasmania’s Laura Kelly said there was evidence of systematic failures to enforce the Animal Welfare Act despite evidence of severe animal cruelty.

No enforcement action has been taken.

Tassal said it was committed to compliance with all regulations regarding seal and wildlife management in its operational areas.

Greens environment spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said the revelations from the DPIPWE documents were shocking.

“The gross treatment of wild seals, and apparently normalised culture of cruel and polluting practices by the salmon industry have been laid bare,” she said.

“The Liberal government’s failure to enforce animal welfare standards for native wildlife, and prevent extensive plastic and toxic pollution of the marine environment, is shocking and far from the ‘clean green salmon’ brand it broadcasts.

“Australian fur seals, ordinarily a protected species, have been subjected to horrible practices by salmon companies.

“The documents show shocking pictures of wounded and blinded seals, along with autopsies of seals who died through drowning from blunt trauma, or blast injuries within fish farm leases.”

Seals ‘brutalised with explosives’ at Tassie fish farms

SEALS are dying painful deaths after being shot with beanbag rounds or hit with crackers to scare them away from fish farm leases, Environment Tasmania says.

Documents obtained under Right to Information laws pointed to widespread and systematic breaches of animal cruelty laws that were not policed, the group said.

And the number of seals being killed was being under-reported, as many were dying outside of fish farm lease areas.

A fur seal with a chest injury from a beanbag deterrent.

The fur seal when first sighted on the Tassal lease at Tinderbox on September 13, 2019 with the beanbag clearly protruding from the left eye. Photo provided by Tassal

“We were sickened when going through these images and reports — these seals have been brutalised with explosives and 12-gauge shotguns at close range and left to bleed to death,”

Environment Tasmania’s Laura Kelly said.

“Then there is evidence of the Tasmanian government refusing to enforce the Animal Welfare Act, despite repeated calls from their own staff to do so in the face of severe animal cruelty from Tassal.”

The aquaculture industry uses “less lethal” lead and kevlar rounds fired from shotguns to deter “nuisance seals”.

The documents showed Tassal used 3694 bean bag rounds between 2018 and January this year. Huon Aquaculture used 315 and Petuna used none.

Example image of a beanbag round (left) and the fur seal with a round lodged in its eye in a holding cage on September 14, 2019 (right).

A Tassal spokesman said the company had a “strong commitment” to the safety of its staff and the wildlife in the environments in which it operates.

“The welfare of both our fish and the marine mammals and birds that interact with our farms is of critical importance to us,” he said.

“We continue to dedicate resources to animal welfare and farm practices, including our about $90 million rollout of sanctuary pens to strengthen exclusion of wildlife and increase safety.

“Our primary effort is exclusion. We do not seek to engage with wildlife except when we need to. However, we do operate in wild environments, and occasional wildlife interactions do occur.

“Tassal is committed to compliance with all regulations regarding seal and wildlife management around our operational areas.

“We publicly report on our interactions with wildlife through our online sustainability reporting dashboard. The figures are updated regularly and also published annually in our sustainability report.”

Tassal also used 55,798 “seal crackers”, Huon 16,008 and Petuna 3533.

Ms Kelly said the documents contained evidence of DPIPWE staff calling for an investigation of Tassal, and suggesting that animal welfare abuses have been allowed to continue because of a lack of action by the government.

“According to a DPIPWE wildlife biologist, these findings are probably a large underestimate of the proportion of seals that die due to approved and legislated deterrent use.

“This is also likely a large underestimate as many seals with injury/penetrating wounds resulting from deterrents would leave the area and die outside the lease area.”

The documents revealed concerns about the need to find a better alternative amid a high proportion of duds and safety concerns.

“The last thing the industry needs is undetonated seal crackers floating around in the marine environment,” one Parks officer noted.

Environment Tasmania said it will write to the Tasmanian Integrity Commission requesting an investigation of the state government’s failure to implement the Animal Welfare Act, Ms Kelly said.

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