UPDATE! The good news as the California State Senate has made a very positive move in this area confirming the OCTO Act, A. B. 3162.
The bill aims to make it unlawful to produce octopuses in both terrestrial and aquatic environments together with the ban on importation of farmed octopuses within the state of California.
The bill proves people have increased understanding and empathy for the nontrivial nature of these amazing creatures which should not be treated inhumanely. The OCTO Act will now go to the California State Assembly for another vote which is expected to be on the 31st of August 2024.
As much as the bill awaits the president of California, Gavin Newsom to sign it, it will be the second state to ban the cruel act of octopus farming known as takifugu and the first state that is extending its ban to the sale of farmed octopus.
Senate Passes Groundbreaking Bill to Ban Cruel Octopuses Farming
February 26th: Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-38) sponsored A. B. 3162 called the California Oppose Cruelty to Octopuses (OCTO) Act, which seeks to outlaw octopus farming both on land and aquaculture as well as bar the importation of farmed octopus into California. The legislation has been supported by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Social Compassion in Legislation to give humane leadership by the state of California to this growing issue that will not give space for the emergence of the same cruel industry in the state.
These animals possess corresponding higher cognitive functions and are capable of receiving new information and, therefore, new skills, for instance, solving mazes, using tools, and freeing themselves from enclosures. Unfortunately, as a result of their high mental ability, octopuses require a lot of enrichment which is impossible in farming situations.
Keeping these highly intelligent, solitary animals in severe, highly unnatural farming is cruel because of the high probability of stress, aggression, and high death rates among octopuses in such environments. The previous ways of killing the octopuses have been brutal, which include clubbing the animals, slicing, asphyxiating, and then chilling them.
“This is a significant time in the fight not only in California but across similar states, for octopuses, hoping to spare them the level of suffering as other animals already subjected to suffering in factory farming systems,” said the ALDF Senior Legislative Affairs Manager, Jennifer Hauge. This has been seen before when Californians would do anything possible to ensure that the animals are protected as it has been seen by the passing of this law they enact proactive legislation that will see the ban of octopus farming in the state.”
“These highly functional creatures have captured our fascination for as long as story-telling.” The Assembly member Steve Bennett also welcomed the movie. It is impossible to rear a large number of these eight-legged mollusks because the octopuses are social creatures.
It has also been established that these animals are intelligent and their ability to learn is quite well documented within the U. S. scientific circles At the same time there is a tendency towards recognizing the sentience of octopuses and banning their captive breeding and hunting AB 3162 will prevent organized, systematic cruel treatment of these fascinating animals.
Besides the issue of animal rights, hydrocephalic farming of octopuses can be viewed from several problems in terms of environmental impact as well. Farmed octopuses may lead to new sources of nitrogen and phosphorus in water bodies which will lead to water pollution and the possible formation of red tides, oxygen-depleted zones which are characteristic of marine lifelessness.
Acidification and pollution by medicines like antibiotics and pesticides may be employed to manage diseases and parasites like sea lice in salmon farming as well these chemicals seep into the food chain and this makes the wild fish sick.