The states of Washington and California have passed octopus farming bans, and it is time to urge national action to prevent a cruel and unsustainable industry.

Factory farms dominate our U.S. food system, and commercial octopus farming cannot be allowed to take hold as the next sector to cause severe animal suffering, threaten ecosystems, spread disease to wild marine life, and endanger public health. 

The intensive farming of octopuses would also put more pressure on sea life, as overfishing already plagues our oceans. Like salmon, octopuses are carnivores, and an estimated three pounds of wild-caught fish would be needed to produce just one pound of farmed octopus. 

And all of this would lead to painful and frightening deaths for octopuses, who are typically slaughtered by clubbing their heads, cutting into their brains, or slowly freezing them to death in icy water.

For all of these reasons, Farm Sanctuary is supporting the Opposing the Cultivation and Trade of Octopus Produced Through Unethical Strategies (OCTOPUS) Act (S.1947), and you can join us now. 

Use our handy form to ask your U.S. Senators to support this legislation that would prohibit commercial octopus farming within the U.S. and block imports of farmed octopuses from other nations.

Octopuses are extraordinary. They are curious, creative, and deeply intelligent. They can solve puzzles, navigate mazes, and recognize humans they know. Like humans, apes, and dolphins, they even use tools. Octopuses are solitary and thrive in the wilderness of the sea—some species near shallow reefs and others in the depths of the open ocean. They have even been known to escape the confines of captivity in aquarium tanks or fishing vessels, squeezing through tiny spaces to reach freedom.

Crowded industrial aquaculture systems cannot meet their complex needs for space, stimulation, and solitude. 

Will you stand up for these remarkable animals today?