Octopus farms raise huge animal welfare concerns - and they’re unsustainable too

When you imagine an octopus’s world, you might well see a curious creature in a complex undersea environment. Yet the reality of life for some octopuses is existence within a barren tank, inescapably surrounded by humans and other octopuses. This is the bleak world of octopus farming – and soon there could be new commercial farms on the horizon. Recently a Spanish company announced its intention to open a new industrial octopus farm, with a goal of producing 3,000 tonnes of octopus a year. This raises huge concerns for animal welfare – because there can be no doubt that octopuses are complex and intelligent animals.