Say no to farmed octopus
Today we have written, as have many other animal advocate groups, to the Secretary of State Thérèse Coffey seeking assurances that the UK government will not permit the sale of octopus imported from the egregious farm under development in the Canary Islands.
Read our letter here:
Dear Dr Coffey
I write to you from Animal Concern, an independent Scottish charity (SC050422) which works across the UK on a broad range of animal welfare issues including factory farming, blood sports, the fur trade, vivisection and wildlife persecution.
I would like to express our deep concern regarding alarming news of an octopus farm under development in the Canary Islands. I understand you may have had similar letters from other animal welfare charities, but we too wanted to express our strong objection to this endeavour.
As I am sure you will know, the seafood company promoting the farm Nova Pescanova are reportedly planning to hold 3 million octopuses in tightly packed pools, under constant light and fed industrially produced dry feed or discards from already-caught fish – the exact opposite of their natural habitat where they live in a dark and solitary environment and hunt wild crustaceans and gastropods. It is believed that the kind of confinement proposed will only lead to high levels of stress, conflict and high mortality, estimated at 10-15%, far higher than what is considered acceptable in other forms of farming.
The water will reportedly be kept at a temperature of -3°C, which will cause slow and stressful deaths to these highly intelligent creatures. Regulatory bodies and scientists alike agree that this is an extremely cruel form of fish slaughter. The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) itself has proposed a ban on this method.
In line with the moves already being taken by UK-based supermarkets such as Tesco and Morrisons, we very much hope that the government will take a strong stance on this issue and not permit the sale of such products in the UK.
We hope that in 2023, we strive for responsible and sustainable food markets which promote ethical animal husbandry – and this octopus farm is simply not compatible with that. As such, any products thereof have no place in UK stores.
We hope to hear from you.