California State Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-38) has introduced AB 3162 – known as the California Oppose Cruelty to Octopuses (OCTO) Act – to prohibit octopus farming on land and water as well as ban the import of farmed octopus to California.
Bennett, whose district covers western and northern Ventura County, introduced the bill on Friday. According to a release by one of the bill’s co-sponsors, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the OCTO Act’s goal is “preempting the controversial and cruel industry” from establishing itself in the Golden State.
According to the release, methods of slaughtering octopuses have historically been highly inhumane and include clubbing, slicing, asphyxiation and freezing.
“These animals have significant cognitive abilities and can learn new skills, navigate complex mazes, are known as escape artists and even use tools,” the ALDF release said. “Due to their complex mental ability, octopuses have high enrichment needs that simply cannot be met in farming environments.”
The OCTO Act is co-sponsored by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Social Compassion in Legislation, whose officials believe that 2024 is a “key moment” in protecting the safety of octopuses.
“This is a key moment, not only in California but around the country, in the effort to protect octopuses from the scale of suffering that other animals already endure on factory farms,” said Jennifer Hauge, ALDF Senior Legislative Affairs Manager. “Californians have demonstrated their concern for the welfare of animals, and this bill is an opportunity to continue that commitment by leading on this issue with proactive legislation.”
“Jurisdictions around the world, including California, are restricting or banning various forms of aquaculture due to its negative environmental impact and the risk of bacterial, viral and parasitic infections in marine life,” Social Compassion in Legislation Founder and President Judie Mancuso added. “Factory farms are environmental disasters whether on land or in the water, and the cruelty inherent in their business model is unspeakable.”
Included in the environmental consequences, the ALDF says, are the risk of nitrogen and phosphorous runoff, increased pollution and potential algae blooms that create low-oxygen areas in the water that are “devoid of life” and have negative impacts on local ecosystems.
“Antibiotics and pesticides may also be used to control the spread of disease and presence of parasites, as they already are with sea lice in salmon farms, and these can end up in the diets of wild fish, making them sick and disrupting food chains,” the animal rights group said.
Similar bills have already been passed in Washington and Hawaii, according to ALDF.
A proposal for the world’s first octopus meat farm in Spain’s Canary Islands “raised deep concerns” among scientists due to the farm’s potential to raise about a million octopuses, according to a BBC report from March 2023 that cited confidential documents given to them by Eurogroup for Animals. This campaign organization advocates for “pan-European animal protection.”
According to an October release from Eurogroup for Animals, the issue “remains on the radar[s]” of regional officials on the Canary Islands and European Union officials.
