Animal rights activists protest plans for Canary Islands octopus farm

Animal rights activists rallied in Madrid on Sunday to protest plans for the construction of an octopus farm in Spain, saying there are no respective laws in the country and the European Union to guarantee the welfare of the animals in captivity.

The proposed farm, which aims to breed octopuses on a large scale in captivity, is scheduled to be built next year in the Canary Islands. ALSO READ: Opinion: the world’s first octopus farm in Gran Canaria would be a stain on humanity.

A few dozen people showed up to express their concerns regarding a project that plans to confine 3 million octopuses in pools, despite these creatures being solitary predators in their natural habitat.

‘It is similar to imprisoning tigers together. They will prey on one another and will also attempt to escape due to their high intelligence and adeptness,’ said Jaime Posada, a spokesperson for the protest called by various animal welfare organisations.

Octopuses grown in captivity will behave differently from those in the wild, said Nova Pescanova, the seafood company promoting this farm. Since 2018, the company has run a pilot project in a research facility in northern Spain, where they have succeeded in breeding five captivity-born generations of the cephalopod.

‘It is not possible to grow any (animal) species in the European Union without respecting their welfare conditions. It is the standard, and our group does nothing but comply with guidelines and legislations,’ said Roberto Romero, the multinational’s aquaculture director.

Since the demand for octopus consumption has been on the rise, farming octopuses is being regarded as a first step towards ensuring sustainable food production.

Octopus is a staple in the Mediterranean diet, particularly popular in Spain and Italy, although both of them import most of the octopus they consume. Recently, the global demand for this delicacy has expanded, with countries like the United States witnessing a 23% increase in imports and China experiencing a 73% surge between 2016 and 2018, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

The world’s first #octopusfarm is being established by Nueva Pescanova. Mass slaughtering these #intelligent, #sentient creatures is not protection. Contact Minister of Agriculture Alicia Wanoostende Simili, ask her to stop this: https://t.co/TjwZhDZncD #endspeciesm pic.twitter.com/febSPXhNTZ
— ADI (@AnimalDefenders) May 15, 2023

🇪🇸🙌 Hoy, en Madrid, casi un centenar de personas se unieron a la acción contra la primera granja industrial de 🐙 del mundo.

Protesta convocada por @AnimaNaturalis junto a @Act4AnimalsEU, @RaicesyBrotes y #AcciónOceanos frente al @mapagob 🏛✊️

📢 ¡Stop granja de pulpos! pic.twitter.com/XqjUN48gB5
— AnimaNaturalis (@AnimaNaturalis) May 21, 2023