MORE than 5000 people have signed a petition urging councillors to can plans for a “cruel” caviar farm.

Edinburgh-registered Fynest Caviar Company has lodged a bid to develop the country’s first such facility at Ardkinglas, near Inverary.

If approved, the closed containment facility will be used to rear non-native sturgeon fish and collect their eggs for the high-priced snack.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has lodged no objections with Argyll and Bute Council, which has set a determination deadline for later this month.

However, international animal rights group Peta has collected 5000 signatures from people opposed to the plan.

The response follows a pre-Christmas call for support by the organisation, which claims fish at the farm would be subjected to a “cruel, bloody death” with their gills cut and that the rural area would be adversely affected by increased traffic and potential pollution.

Yesterday its director Elisa Allen said: “Thousands of compassionate people have spoken, and Argyll and Bute Council should heed their concerns for animal welfare, the environment, and the health of the community.

“Peta is calling for the proposal to be rejected, sparing sturgeons immense suffering.”

There is currently only one caviar farm in the UK, with Exmoor Caviar Farm in Devon putting its sturgeon roe on the market four years ago.

Fynest Caviar Company aims to launch its products by Christmas 2020.

It hopes to begin work on the lochside site this spring.

If approved, the facility will be capable of producing and canning 1.5 tonnes of the luxury edible every year.

While other species are now used for its production, the term caviar is traditionally applied to the eggs of wild sturgeon from the Caspian and Black seas. The fish is not native to Scotland, and Marine Scotland has advised the applicant that a special licence will be required in order to bring in and work with the stock.

In November financier Stephen O’Brien, one of the three shareholders behind the firm, told a newspaper that animal welfare will be central to its operation.

He said: “The object is to become a leading high quality and profitable niche producer of caviar and sturgeon meat based on an ethical, sustainable and environmentally-friendly operation.

“We are keen to ensure that we are a centre of excellence in our knowledge of the species and our process produces the highest standard of care.”

The Peta petition, which is now closed, was submitted to the council privately and has not been included in its consultation on the application, which has also ended.

Launching the petition last month, Allen said: “If this plan goes ahead, fish will endure a slow and painful death before they’re cut open and their eggs are removed to produce caviar, a pointless ‘delicacy’ that nobody needs.

“Peta is calling for the proposal to be rejected.”

It can take up to 25 years for female sturgeon to mature.

However, developers aim to start the business using blended stock from accredited sustainable sources.

The Scottish Government aims to double the value of Scotland’s aquaculture sector by 2030 and hopes that this will create thousands of jobs in the process.