King Drops Mowi Over Salmon Cruelty Exposed by GBF

The King’s finally done what regulators and retailers should’ve done years ago: cut ties with Mowi, the salmon giant that’s been caught red-handed abusing animals and polluting Scotland’s waters. After 35 years of holding a Royal Warrant, it’s gone. Stripped. Finished. And it only happened because our team at the Green Britain Foundation (GBF) exposed the ugly truth at their Loch Harport site on Skye.

What The GBF found was shocking, even for an industry already infamous for cruelty: salmon beaten to death, left gasping on the floor, suffering slow, painful deaths. It’s the stuff they don’t want you to see, hidden behind glossy “sustainable” labels and “responsible farming” spin.

So yes; credit where it’s due. The King, who calls himself an environmentalist, has made the right call here. A company that pollutes lochs, rivers and tortures animals has no business holding a Royal seal of approval. This decision says loud and clear that animal welfare and environmental responsibility come before corporate PR, and we need more people in power to follow that example.

Here’s what’s happened since the GBF’s investigation:

• RSPCA Assured suspended the Loch Harport farm and passed the case to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

• Supermarkets paused buying from the site while inquiries ran.

• The Soil Association flagged serious breaches; including “critical non-compliance” for inhumane killing.

Most of those actions were temporary though, a quick PR clean-up, not real accountability. The truth is, enforcement in the UK is weak. Compare that with Norway or Chile, where companies face serious fines and criminal penalties for welfare violations. Here? Just promises to “do better next time”.

If the King can act, so can Scotland’s regulators and retailers. SEPA and the Scottish Government need to stop handing out warnings and start handing out real penalties. Supermarkets could fix this overnight with one simple rule: no buying from farms with active welfare or pollution breaches. No excuses. No returns until independent audits show they’ve sorted it.

Public opinion’s clear, people hate the cruelty and pollution this industry hides behind greenwashed packaging. That anger’s justified. It’s time for proper transparency and tough enforcement, with consequences that actually hurt, not just slap wrists.

The GBF will keep pushing for:

• Tougher enforcement of welfare and environmental rules.

• Real transparency: real-time public reporting of deaths, lice levels and welfare standards.

• Meaningful sanctions: suspensions and certification losses until issues are fixed.

• Heavy fines for repeat offenders, just like in Norway and Chile.

We’re not stopping here. If you want to back the GBF’s next investigation and help keep shining a light on this dirty industry get involved, donate, share the story. The tide’s turning…:)