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The NSPCA says it had to rescue fish at an aquaculture fish farm in the Karoo in the Eastern Cape that was found in putrid and inhumane living conditions.
A spokesperson for the NSPCA Keshvi Nair says they went on a proactive inspection trip on Wednesday and stopped at the farm they inspected earlier this year.
She says upon arrival they were shocked to find the farm abandoned with only a security guard on duty.
Nair says a further investigation revealed live fish eating one another as they had not been fed and maggots eating and burrowing into the rotting flesh of the fish that had already died.
She says the dried-up carcasses and skeletal remains of other fish were also found scattered across the floors of the farm.
"The number of surviving fish remains undetermined as the tanks are too filthy to clearly see how many fish there are," she added.
Nair says the NSPCA now has to work through several large tunnel houses filled with fish tanks to rescue a large number of fish suffering as a result of severe animal cruelty.
Although the aquaculture sector markets itself as a remedy for the condition of our overfished oceans, there is a significant catch: Aquaculture facilities, just like the one the NSPCA is currently investigating, subject millions of farmed fish to conditions where rampant cruelty is revealed.
Had the NSPCA not taken the initiative to conduct an inspection and urgently intervene, all the fish at the facility would have faced a slow and torturous death.
Nair says action will be taken for the cruelty and abuse that the fish were subjected to as the investigation by the NSPCA unfolds.
Algoa FM News reached out to Nair for more information on the fish farm involved so that we can approach them for comment.
We will update this story as more information becomes available.
