COUNTRYFILE viewers were left 'sick to their stomach' by 'disgusting' animal abuse scenes in a shock farming report.

Sunday's episode saw presenter Tom Heap head to Scotland to find out why a record number of salmon are dying prematurely in fish farms.

Tom revealed in a voiceover that the farms have had trouble controlling sea lice and other parasites.

He spoke to a marine veterinarian who has concerns about the industry.

He explained how a report from 2022 found that 17 million fish prematurely died, which is on average one in four fish dying before they reach harvest.

Video footage taken under water showed dead fish and salmon also suffering with other infections and ailments.

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He added: "Because of the very nature of open net salmon farming, being that things can float in and out of the cages, there's very little that can be done, and because of that, we're seeing millions of fish dying on these farms."

Tom said all farming systems have "some mortality" and asked if there was a level that would be deemed acceptible.

The guest replied: "First thing to say is, there's always going to be a level of loss in production systems sadly, when we're dealing with livestock.

"The level that we're at in Scotland is roughly 25 per cent of fish dying in their marine cages, when it comes to certification bodies, I'm sure that the consumer would expect there to be a threshold put on the amount of fish that can die on a farm."

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Countryfile viewers were horrified by the footage and statistics revealed in the report, and took to X – formerly Twitter – to condemn the industry.

One tweeted: "This image makes me sick to my stomach. No animal deserves to suffer from flesh-eating lice, deformities, blindness, untreated wounds or infectious diseases. No more salmon for me from now on #ScottishSalmon #Countryfile."

Another added: "Just found out that last year 16.7 million farmed fish died on Scottish salmon farms before even making it to the slaughterhouse? How is this permitted?!"

A third tweeted: "Atlantic salmon are migratory animals that would normally travel many miles in the wild. Farming them in cramped underwater cages is extremely cruel."

Meanwhile a fourth raged: "@BBCCountryfile doing a selling job on vile Scottish Salmon Farming. Its a despicable industry; massively abusive to the salmon and the conditions the fish are kept in are disgusting. I wouldnt touch #ScottishSalmon with a bargepole. #Scotland #Countryfile #BBCCountryfile."

Countryfile airs Sundays on BBC One.

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