'Horrific Terror and Pain': Warning Octopus Farm Will Lead to Cannibalism

Plans are well underway for the first commercial octopus farm, which has stoked concern among animal-welfare campaigners that keeping the intelligent creatures in such an environment could lead to "unnatural aggression" and cannibalism.

Spanish seafood company Nueva Pescanova is aiming to open the world's first octopus farm this summer, as it looks for ways to meet growing demands for the delicacy. That comes at a time when scientists have been discovering how sentient these creatures are and investigating their ability to feel pain and a range of emotions.

"Scientists have concluded that it is impossible to farm octopuses in a way that doesn't compromise their welfare," Mimi Bekhechi, the U.K. vice president for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), told Newsweek. "At the end of a miserable life confined to a tank, the octopuses will be slaughtered—most likely while fully conscious— experiencing horrific terror and pain as their brains are cut into or their heads are clubbed in."

There are concerns that if octopuses were crammed into tanks, they may resort to extreme measures. Scientists already know that octopuses are cannibalistic creatures, but when crammed together in small areas, they can even eat their own limbs.

However, Nueva Pescanova said in a statement sent to Newsweek that its "priority is to guarantee animal welfare by applying the conditions of the species in the wild to the farming process."

"Recent studies carried out by Pescanova Biomarine Centre staff and collaborators specialised in octopus (Spanish National Research Council, Spanish Institute of Oceanography, among others) are demonstrating that, by providing optimal culture/farming conditions and an adequate diet for each of their stages, octopuses adapt normally to group living environments without territorial aggression," the statement said.

"To this end, we are analyzing methods and strategies to assess the welfare of the animals according to their life stages (fry, juvenile or adult) and the time of year they are cultured. For example, in earlier stages, such as rearing and hatching, systems are being developed to control parameters with 360º monitoring (water, light, space, etc.). This adaptation of the octopus to the pool habitat has been achieved by applying the specific natural conditions of the species in the wild to the productive culture.

"Since we managed to close the octopus reproduction cycle in aquaculture, we are working on the fifth generation of this species, in a project that seeks to optimize its cultivation in four areas: genetics, nutrition, health and animal welfare, the latter being our central pillar. This demonstrates its viability, and it could not have been achieved if we hadn't made ensuring animal welfare our utmost priority."

Bekhechi also warned that as octopuses are solitary animals, keeping them together will lead to aggressive behavior.

"It will almost certainly lead to unnatural aggression, cannibalism, injury, and death as they fight and struggle to escape," Bekhechi said.

Nueva Pescanova said that this has not been observed, however.

"We're not observing any territoriality, or cannibalism, or attacks, or anything like this, and that's because the conditions these octopuses live in are just right. The fact that they are born in optimal living and welfare conditions (space, temperature, water quality, food, absence of predators...) makes their behavior different from the animal in the wild and favors that there are no episodes of rivalry," the company said in a statement.

Plans for the octopus farm have built on decades of research on how to keep the creatures in perfect breeding conditions, and on an industrial scale. It aims to be able to generate 3,000 tonnes of octopus annually by 2026, which will then be sold domestically and internationally.

Scientists have shown in a number of studies that octopuses are highly intelligent creatures capable of feeling pain and sadness. In 2021, the London School of Economics said octopuses were "sentient beings," meaning they are capable of processing complex emotions.

In 2009, scientists observed octopuses in Indonesia collecting discarded coconut shells. They carried the tools to a new location and used them to build a shelter, in anticipation of coming across future predators.

"Octopuses are recognised as "Einsteins of the sea" and are capable of complex thought processes [...]," Bekhechi said. "It would be unconscionable to cram these clever cephalopods into tanks or netted pools in which they would be denied everything that gives their life meaning, and that's why scientists, conservationists, and tens of thousands of PETA supporters are calling for plans for this octopus prison to be scrapped. These fascinating, highly intelligent animals should be respected and allowed to live their lives in their natural environments, not imprisoned and killed for food."

Natasha Maria, a climate adviser for the Plant Based Treaty, and expert in sustainable food systems and climate change, agreed, telling Newsweek: "The thought of octopus farming horrifies most people; we already know that farmed animals such as pigs, cows and chickens experience extreme levels of pain, suffering and distress both on the farm and at the slaughterhouse, so to now introduce an octopus into this cruel system when they should be free to roam the ocean floor is unthinkable."

Maria is also part of the Animal Save Movement, which has been campaigning against octopus farming since the plans were announced.

"It is an expansion of cruelty as octopuses are typically not currently farmed and exploited and killed for food in such a large, commercial way," Maria said.

Nearly 1 million people have signed an Avaaz petition to ban octopus farming, spurred on by the news.

Nueva Pescanova said in its statement that most criticisms of the octopus farm are based off findings from the London School of Economics study, but the company said there are several limitations to the paper.

"From this paper it is relevant to highlight the limitations found in reviewing these sources on which the premises of the study and the criticisms against the project are based," it said. "Of the 384 studies on which the report is based, only 21 mention O. vulgaris (5%), the octopus species to be reared on the farm and more than half (11) are articles older than 20 years. No article on O. vulgaris is later than 2018 (date of the scientific milestone of the closure of the biological cycle by Nueva Pescanova). None of the cited studies have investigated any octopus born and reared in culture conditions (only 3 mention the larval stage in O. vulgaris born in captivity), which invalidates any scientifically based assertion about their behavior."

"Nueva Pescanova admits they intend to farm the usually solitary creatures in cramped conditions, housing multiple octopuses—an estimated 10 to 15—for each cubic metre of tank space," Maria said. "Compassion in World Farming, who have examined the octopus farm proposals, estimate that 10-15 percent of octopuses housed under the plans will die before they even get to 'slaughter age.'"

Nueva Pescanova said in its statement however that "this is completely wrong."

The company said that the octopuses will have the space they need to move freely.

"Depending on the stage of their life cycle, octopuses live in different types of pools of different sizes designed to provide them with the optimal conditions they need at each stage of their life. Neither the authorities would allow the animals to live under stress, nor would it favor our project if they were stressed. Therefore, our priority is that they have optimal welfare conditions (space, temperature, light, water quality, food, etc.), which will also guarantee their correct development," the company said.

It isn't clear whether campaigners will be able to have an impact on the proposed farm, or the conditions in which the octopuses are kept.

Nueva Pescanova said it is working with researchers from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, "with the authorization of the General Directorate of Livestock of the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Government of the Canary Islands, and under the supervision of the Ethical Committee of Animal Experimentation of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, a Protocol of Good Practices for Slaughter according to Animal Welfare Requirements."

"While we are in the research phase, the method being used at the moment is the most commonly applied in the industry and the one covered by current regulations," the statement said. "Said method entails proper handling that avoids any type of pain or suffering, in strict compliance with European Union regulations."

Update 7/3/23, 10:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with statements from Nueva Pescanova.

Update 7/5/23, 8:48 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further statements from Nueva Pescanova.