Readers' letters: Salmon farmers care deeply about standards of animal welfare

Every farm operates under veterinary-supervised health and welfare plans, mandatory for all producers and a prerequisite for market access. The Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture, along with other third-party standards, further reinforces welfare.

Claims of overcrowding, aggression, fin damage, disease or “out-of-control” sea lice are unsupported by evidence. The 12,500 people working in the sector across Scotland deserve better than such unsubstantiated claims from an MSP.

As Ms Roddick knows, fish are monitored daily by farmers, vets and health professionals, with welfare safeguarded using a wide range of tools. Sea lice levels are at historic lows and survival rates, which are voluntarily published, are at record highs.

More than £1 billion has been invested in innovation, veterinary care, technology and stock management to continually improve welfare. These facts were presented to the parliamentary committee Ms Roddick sits on.

The Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 provides robust protections. There is no loophole and all concerns are investigated by the competent authority. Ms Roddick has served as a minister and is now a backbencher in the governing party. The law is clear, it matters and it is enforceable.

Misrepresenting welfare issues does a disservice to the men and women across the sector, many of them Ms Roddick’s constituents in the Highlands and Islands. Rather than attacking them, she should recognise their tireless work to deliver the UK’s most popular fish and largest food export.

Tavish Scott, Chief Executive, Salmon Scotland

Smith’s legacy

The recent reincarnation of Adam Smith by Brian Cox in the Edinburgh Festival play Make It Happen made me wonder what the great man would think about the way his legacy has been treated in Scotland’s schools.

Economics was the 19th most popular subject in terms of 2025 Higher exam entries. In England it ranks eighth in A level entries, up from 12th in 2017, and is the fastest rising subject in popularity terms. In Scotland, a mere 910 pupils took the Higher Economics exam in 2025, compared with 41,880 taking A level Economics in England. The English figure is 46 times greater than the Scottish figure, far in excess of the population differential.

Those involved in promoting, teaching and administering the subject ought to attend to ways of reducing this gap. Adam, and Brian, might well sigh as they contemplate the truth of the biblical saying that “a prophet is not without honour, save in his own country”.

Roderick MacFarquhar, Edinburgh

Moving story

The removal of Karunin Kirk in Arctic Sweden to prevent it being swallowed up and going underground (Scotsman, 20 August) is, on many levels, a parable for our times. The congregation are, quite literally receiving an uplifting experience and they are mobile.

It’s a cliche to say that the Church is defined by people, not a building. The early church famously worshipped in each other’s homes. Yet, anyone who has attended a Kirk Session meeting is far too frequently frustrated by the time and effort spent on two subjects, the fabric of the building and congregational numbers.

Jesus emphasised that “where two or three are gathered in my name, there he is in their midst”. In a world of mega-churches, where two or three thousand are gathered, it’s all too tempting to be uplifted by the sheer number of those present, rather than the Risen Lord Himself, very much Himself.

At the heart of Christianity are not crowds, but rejection, that of Jesus, who sides Himself, precisely, with the outcast and the lost, the leper and the oppressed. With bitter irony, He said and still says today, “the healthy have no need of a physician”. He has little time for multitudes.

Ian Petrie, Edinburgh

Ticket to ride

As a parent of three under-22s who were encouraged to get their bus passes by my 93-year-old aunt Margaret in Sauchie so they could visit her independently, as I am the only car driver in the family, I would suggest it is George Morton (Letters, 18 August) who is divorced from reality, not the politicians.

Most young folk know how to use the under-22s bus scheme properly and that’s what they do, so why give the badly behaved all the attention?

Are we going to stop all those who abuse supermarket staff from going into supermarkets to abuse many of those under-22s who work there?

Or is the more realistic option to tackle the bad behaviour rather than blaming schemes for all the problems?

Peter Ovenstone, Peterhead. Aberdeenshire

Lost generation

As a coalition of organisations that support vulnerable children and young people, we have, for a number of years, shared the concerns of School Leaders Scotland over a lack of resourcing to support an escalating number of pupils with additional support needs (ASN) (Scotsman, 20 August).

The number of those with ASN, such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems, now amounts to more than two out of five pupils, a more than doubling in numbers over the past decade.

In parallel with this, the number of ASN teachers over this same period has fallen from 3,077 to 2,837, a record low and a decrease of 240 teachers.

While we note the fact that the Scottish Government is spending around £1 billion on those with ASN, given the escalating number of those identified, there has actually been a spending cut of £1,708 per pupil over the last decade, amounting to a cut of just under a third.

While we as a coalition support the principle of mainstreaming, that children and young people are taught in mainstream classes unless exceptional circumstances apply, it is difficult to see how this can work effectively when those with ASN are in many cases not receiving the necessary care and support. This negatively impacts not only them, but also their peers and staff.

Without our schools receiving adequate financial support, we are facing a lost generation of vulnerable children and young people, and we would urge the Scottish Government and councils to work together to address this.

Kenny Graham, Lynn Bell, Stephen McGhee & Niall Kelly, Scottish Children’s Services Coalition, Edinburgh

Clear-eyed view

The government’s latest transport policy – mandatory eye tests for the 5.2 million drivers over the age of 70 – is being sold under the banner of “road safety”. But scratch beneath the surface, and it becomes clear: this is about control, exclusion, and a shortcut to net zero targets without the groundwork.

No public impact assessment. No open consultation. No updated transport legislation debated or voted on. Just a quiet rollout of restrictions that disproportionately affect pensioners, rural residents, and anyone without access to robust public transport. For many, driving isn’t a luxury it’s a necessity. Removing that lifeline without alternatives is not just poor planning, it’s a form of social isolation.

We’ve seen this pattern before. Electric vehicles were pushed with urgency, yet the infrastructure to support them – charging stations, grid upgrades, affordability – lags far behind.

This policy may be a quiet victory for net zero, but it’s a loud defeat for democratic process and mobility rights. We deserve transparency, consultation, and infrastructure – not soft lockdowns disguised as progress.

Don Williams, Falkirk

Question time

I go to the Edinburgh International Book Festival to hear the writers’ and interviewers’ discussions. But I also look forward to the last 15 minutes for the audience to ask questions.

Sadly, that audience participation isn’t always respected by some interviewers, who hog the session, despite a large visible clock counting down the minutes to the session end.

Being invited to chair a session does include a responsibility to include audience questions.

Fiona Garwood, Edinburgh

Horror show

An accurate synopsis from Brian Monteith of our dreadful economic situation (Scotsman, 18 August).

It’s no exaggeration to describe a terrifying 42 per cent jump in public expenditure since 2020 as “a horror story.” This article bluntly calls out “the scheming, evasion and delusion of SNP politicians that cost us millions and amount to billions”.

The Scottish Government’s left-wing “progressive” policies have undermined growth and business confidence. Separatists appear proud of a vastly increased social security bill, as the SNP conjures endless rabbits from the welfare hat to appease its core voters.

Mr Monteith mentions the Edinburgh Book Festival. Ironically, even this event is now having to be funded by us hard-pressed taxpayers, thanks to corporate sponsors Baillie-Gifford being scared off by anti-fossil fuel attack dogs.

But John Swinney and his cabal of GERS deniers appear more preoccupied with gender politics and Palestine than tiresome financial matters, even as Scotland deteriorates.

Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh

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