Regarding octopuses, as with all animals that inhabit the planet with us, there are still many unknowns, but the scientific community already agrees that they have a mental complexity comparable to that of the most intelligent animals. They are even capable of playing, and their ability to wield tools for previously defined purposes, such as escaping from a pond or facilitating camouflage, has already been demonstrated.
As we continue to be amazed by the abilities that are being discovered about them, octopus consumption has skyrocketed. “It is not a problem of food security, but a question of luxury,” says Jeniffer Jacquet, professor of environmental sciences at the University of Miami, signatory of a letter that a hundred scientists sent to the authorities of the Canary Islands to ask them not to grant licenses for the first octopus breeding macrofarm, planned in Gran Canaria by Nueva Pescanova. The industry says that this is the only way to satisfy demand, but Jacquet is not the only one to think that it is economic interests that generate this demand to benefit from its satisfaction, even if it is at the price of raising wild, intelligent, sensitive animals in captivity, as shown in the documentary. What the octopus taught me.
We know that pigs are as intelligent, if not more intelligent, than dogs, and it is just a cultural issue that leads us to eat some and love others, to consider some only as “sausages.” or “bacon” and to fight against any form of mistreatment towards others, which pushes us to want to know more about dogs but not about pigs, otherwise to make their exploitation even more profitable or to find new areas of martyrdom for them. If we knew that pigs play, create social bonds, distinguish faces and voices, if we saw their crazy looks when they go en masse to the slaughterhouse and heard their cries of terror when they know that they are are going to die, maybe we would have a problem continuing to eat their mutilated bodies.
We already know enough about octopuses to prevent their exploitation from leading to an industry as macabre as that which exploits pigs, cows, hens or chickens, animals considered “farm” and therefore without any other choice in our society than being born to die.
Unlike these other animals, octopuses have a World Day, October 8. At the same time, more than ninety NGOs and experts from different fields sent a letter to the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, demanding that the executive stop financing a “cruel” and “unsustainable” activity.
Coinciding with this date, Compassion in World Farming published a study that reveals the spending of countries around the world to develop octopus farming for consumption, according to which Spain is the one that has allocated the most money public to this objective. The investigation estimates a total of at least 13.3 million euros of public funds in research aimed at developing octopus farming on farms for consumption and estimates that the Spanish government has spent at least 9.7 million euros to develop this practice.
However, this research shows that information on public financing of projects is often not readily available, indicating that the actual amounts could be much higher, as well as the need for greater transparency in public spending so that governments can assume their responsibilities.
A survey this year by Compassion and Eurogroup for Animals showed that almost 8 in 10 people (79%) in nine European Union countries agree that when public money is used to finance the breeding of animals, aquatic animals, this is only “sustainable” systems that need to be supported.
It is true that the term “sustainable” is greatly distorted by the ambiguity with which it is used when we want to convince consumers that a certain activity or a certain product is compatible with the environment, biodiversity or ” animal welfare” (another equally distorted term), but in the case of octopus farming this “sustainability” is unachievable in every way. It involves breeding wild animals in captivity, thereby depriving them of anything that means living freely in their own habitat. But also, given that octopuses are carnivorous, it is difficult to think that feeding them in captivity will be sustainable.
Once again, we fear that we will find ourselves faced not only with an ethical atrocity and an environmental disaster, but also with a further waste of resources to satisfy artificially inflated demand. Is all this disaster worth it for the pleasure in the mouth? The answer is clear, or should be.
For all these reasons, more than ninety NGOs and experts, including philosopher Peter Singer, Eurogroup for Animals, Ocean Born Foundation, World Animal Protection and researcher Jennifer Jacquet, joined Compassion to write to the president of the Spanish government, asking it to end funding for octopus farming and take legislative measures to ban this practice.
In addition, environmental and animal protection organizations, including Compassion in World Farming, Eurogroup for Animals and Greenpeace, among others, gathered in front of the Congress of Deputies in Madrid to present the reasons why the first farm of octopuses in the world must be stopped. Immediately afterwards, the deputy of Sumar, Nahuel González, co-spokesperson of the Parliamentary Association for the Defense of Animal Rights (APDDA), announced on social networks the promotion of a non-legal proposal to stop this macro -octopus breeding.
Dr Elena Lara, Compassion’s Senior Science and Policy Advisor for the EU, spoke at the event. “On this World Octopus Day, we urge the Spanish government and other governments around the world to do the right thing and stop funding octopus farming. “People may be outraged that their hard-earned taxes are being spent to lock these fascinating and intelligent creatures on factory farms, a practice that also harms the environment,” he said.
“Our investigation also reveals a lack of transparency which makes it difficult to establish the amount of public money invested in this cruel practice. “Governments should be more open and accountable, and instead of funding activities that harm the environment, they should end intensive production systems and only fund sustainable practices that benefit animals, humans and our planet “, he added.
Compassion has been raising awareness about the threat posed by octopus farming since 2021, when it released a report titled “Intensive Octopus Farming: A Recipe for Disaster.” Most recently, the NGO partnered with Eurogroup for Animals to publish the report “Environmental Risks of Exposed Octopuses,” which exposes the serious environmental consequences of the breeding project in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where Nueva Pescanova plans to raise around one million octopuses per year for human consumption.
Last month, 100 scientists came together to call on US lawmakers to keep octopuses in the wild, asking the US Congress to pass a nationwide ban on octopus farming. Bans have already been introduced in Washington state and California, and a bill has been introduced in the US Congress that could ban commercial octopus farming nationwide.
That same Friday, news arrived of a possible termination of the project, considered “unviable”. I hope it’s true. I hope this farm macro never sees the light of day. While we wait for confirmation, we will continue to fight for octopuses to be free and in their habitat, just as we continue to fight for an end to the exploitation of all other animals, subjected to the merciless machinery of industry.
