Animal charity the RSPCA has raised concerns over proposals to build the world's first commercial octopus farm. The site, in the Port of Las Palmas on Gran Canaria, could rear around 1m animals each year, producing 3,000 tonnes of octopus meat.
Dr Marc Cooper, head of farm animals at the RSPCA, said, "Octopus are highly advanced, complex and intelligent marine animals that tend to be solitary creatures. Their suitability to be farmed is highly questionable and there is also a significant gap in knowledge on how to properly care for these animals and meet their needs in a commercial setting. In addition, we are not aware of any humane slaughter methods for octopus that could be carried out on a commercial scale."
Two years ago, the Conservative government introduced the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022, which recognises the sentience of octopuses in law in the UK. As part of the background to the Act, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) conducted extensive research that demonstrated how stresses and aggressive octopuses get in large groups, since they are naturally solitary animals. The report concluded that 'high welfare octopus farming was impossible'.
British legislators and animal welfare charities are hoping that the Spanish government will follow the UK's lead and prevent the commercial farming of octopuses.
