Opposition To The World's First Octopus Factory Farm Continues to Grow

THINKEAT

Apr 16

Momentum to protect octopuses builds as 10,000 Species Unite supporters speak out against the cruel plans, while a new, landmark UK law recognizes their capacity to feel pain.

For those who have seen the Oscar-winning Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher, or read Peter Godfrey-Smith’s bestselling book Other Minds, you will already know that octopuses are clearly sentient. But unfortunately, the issue is lagging behind when it comes to recognizing this in law - as such, these highly complex creatures have limited protection from humans and our plans to exploit them.

But, there are signs that legislative change for octopuses is starting to catch up with public perception thanks to the tireless work of campaigners and activists. Last week, the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill passed its final stages in UK Parliament. This means once the bill is granted royal assent, it will officially be made law, known as the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022.

The legislation formally recognizes that all vertebrate animals including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds are sentient beings. In November 2021, the bill was amended to include lobsters, octopuses, crabs, and all other decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs after a government-commissioned review conducted by the London School of Economics (LSE), found there was “strong scientific evidence decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs are sentient”.

The government has said that the legislation will be for future guidance on animal welfare. However, existing legislation and industry practices will not be affected by the law. This means that common methods such as declawing, nicking, eyestalk ablation, the sale of live crustaceans to untrained handlers, and extreme slaughter methods such as live boiling without stunning, will remain legal, despite recognition of these animals’ sentience.

Sentience, as described per the report is “the capacity to have feelings, such as feelings of pain, pleasure, hunger, thirst, warmth, joy, comfort and excitement. It is not simply the capacity to feel pain, but feelings of pain, distress or harm.”

The five-year review saw experts consider hundreds of existing scientific studies on these two invertebrate animal groups to evaluate evidence of sentience. Their findings led the authors to urge the government to formally recognize these animals as sentient beings.

Professor Kristin Andrews, the York Research Chair in Animal Minds, has called the law ‘cutting-edge’, as the majority of countries do not recognize invertebrates such as octopuses as sentient. In light of the new law, Prof Andrews co-wrote an article published in the journal Science, ‘The question of animal emotions’, exploring the implications of recognizing animal sentience.

“It’s been a real struggle even to get fish and mammals recognized under welfare law as sentient. So, it’s pretty cutting-edge what seems to be happening in the UK with invertebrates,” she said. The research also points out how pre-verbal human babies were considered not to feel pain up until the 1980s.

Prof Andrews says recognizing the sentience of invertebrates opens a moral and ethical dilemma - and she’s right. What can it mean to acknowledge animal sentience if we also support the slaughter of trillions of animals for consumption every year?

Humans-animals verbally express what they feel, but non-human animals don't have the same ability to communicate their emotions.

“However, the research so far strongly suggests their existence,” said Prof Andrews, who is working on a research project, Animals and Moral Practice. “When we’re going about our normal lives, we try not to do harm to other beings. So, it’s really about retraining the way we see the world," she said.

"How exactly to treat other animals remains an open research question. We don’t have sufficient science right now to know exactly what the proper treatment of certain species should be. To determine that, we need greater cooperation between scientists and ethicists.”

Indeed, the new findings and subsequent sentience law throw plans for the world’s first octopus factory farm by Spanish firm, Nueva Pescanova Group, into an even more alarming light. The new plant, located close to the Port of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, will open its doors in 2023 and has the capacity to produce 3,000 tonnes of octopus per year. Authors of the study that concluded cephalopod molluscs and decapod crustaceans should be regarded as sentient also wrote they were “convinced that high-welfare octopus farming was impossible”.

Scientists, conservationists, and animal advocates have all expressed concerns over Nueva Pescanova’s plans. And the Species Unite community has also voiced their opposition, with more than 10,000 people signing our petition calling on the Spanish Government and the European Union to ban octopus farming and stop this new form of mechanized animal cruelty before it is too late. In light of the new sentience bill, Species Unite has now handed the petition to Christos Economou, the acting director of the European Commission’s Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Directorate.

So, what’s the solution?

Credit: Vegan ‘Octopus’ Balls/Floured Frame

Although legislation still has a long way to go when it comes to protecting animals, our choices can align with our values right now. Rather than eating sentient individuals and creating demand for activities such as octopus factory farming or industrial fishing, we can choose the ethical - and delicious - alternative: plant-based seafood. When it comes to protecting sentient, aquatic animals, this is a game-changer, and everyone from the world's largest food giants to tech-savvy startups are jumping on board to help develop plant-based replacements for fish and crustaceans.

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