A response on farmed octopus in the UK

Two months ago, we sent a letter to Secretary of State Thérèse Coffey imploring her to prevent the sale of farmed octopus in UK stores, citing the horrific and cruel methods used, incompatible with any level of animal welfare standards. Today, we received a predictably meaningless reply from the Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries Mark Spencer:

Thank you for your letter of 23 May to the Secretary of State about octopus farming. I am replying as the Minister responsible for this policy area and I apologise for the delay in doing so.

As you may be aware, the Government has recognised in law the sentience of animals including cephalopod molluscs such as octopus in the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022. We recognise that applying high welfare standards to octopus farming presents a range of challenges due to their physiological needs.

The Government is carefully considering next steps for the welfare of decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs such as octopus. This includes working constructively with stakeholders and industry to build a clear evidence base relating to the practices used across our supply chains to understand what opportunities exist to improve welfare standards.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need further information.

Yours sincerely,

Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP

This does not fill us with hope. We will monitor this situation but in the meantime, make sure that you sign the petition below to ensure that octopus farming never comes to British waters.