Protect Octopuses from Commercial Farming in the U.S.  

Over the past several years, Species Unite and other animal advocacy organizations worldwide have been raising the alarm about the looming threat of a new and incredibly sinister form of factory farming. We have been publishing petitions and news articles to spread awareness of Spanish corporation Nueva Pescanova's plans to build the world's first commercial octopus farm at the Port of Las Palmas on Gran Canaria island, where over one million octopuses will be raised and slaughtered annually for human consumption.

Now, a bipartisan pair of legislators in the United States Senate have taken up this issue by introducing a crucial new bill that would prohibit the intensive breeding of octopuses in the United States and ban imports of octopus products from international farms.

Senate Bill 4810, the Trade of Octopus Produced through Unethical Strategies (OCTOPUS) Act, is currently co-sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). If passed, the bill would impose a civil fine of up to $100,000 for each violation while offering exceptions for certain practices, including aquarium displays, breeding programs, and octopuses kept for research purposes. Additionally, anyone importing octopus meat into the U.S. would be required to certify that it was not produced through commercial farming.

In explaining his motivation for the bill, Senator Whitehouse noted, “Octopuses are among the most intelligent creatures in the oceans. And they belong at sea, not suffering on a factory farm.”

Senator Murkowski echoed this sentiment, assuring that this bill will “prevent U.S. companies from participating in this brutal practice before it takes root."

Since Nueva Pescanova’s plans to start commercially breeding octopuses became public, the project has received significant backlash as leaked documents revealed that the proposed facility would subject octopuses to cruel conditions and a painful, stressful, and slow death. Scientists have proven that octopuses are a highly intelligent species capable of suffering, and their physical and emotional needs cannot be sufficiently met in a factory farming setting, where extreme stress might drive these solitary creatures to the point of cannibalism.

Environmentalists have also argued that octopus farming could have severe environmental consequences. They warn that octopus aquaculture facilities may increase nitrogen and phosphorus runoff, leading to pollution, algal blooms, and low-oxygen dead zones that disrupt marine ecosystems.

Activists further highlight the use of antibiotics and pesticides to control diseases and parasites, practices similar to those in salmon farms, which can harm wild fish and disrupt food chains.

Although the United States does not currently have plans for any commercial octopus farms, the grim prospect of the Spanish facility underscores the need to preemptively prohibit this new form of animal cruelty on U.S. soil while also limiting the market where immoral companies like Nueva Pescanova can sell their grisly product of torture.

Please reach out to your member of the United States Senate and ask them to join Murkowski and Whitehouse on the right side of history by co-sponsoring this important bill!