On 27 September, the State of California passed a new law to prevent the farming of octopuses, citing animal welfare and environmental concerns. The California Oppose Cruelty to Octopuses (OCTO) Act also prevents business owners from knowingly selling farmed octopuses. The bill is the second of its kind to come into effect in the United States, with Washington state passing similar legislation in February this year. A bipartisan bill, the OCTOPUS Act, introduced in the US Senate in July would enact a similar ban at the federal level if passed. The OCTO Act received unanimous support in the Californian Senate, and bipartisan support in the Assembly. The Act argues that raising octopuses intensively for food cannot be justified on ethical grounds, noting that the animals are “conscious, sentient beings that exhibit cognitive and behavioural complexity”. The Act also argues that potential nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from establishing octopus aquaculture facilities could pose a threat to marine environments.
The OCTO Act was co-sponsored by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Social Compassion in Legislation, and it received support from the Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) and the Animal Rights Initiative. 134 organisations from the Aquatic Animal Alliance also co-signed a letter to the California State Senate Appropriations Committee in support of the bill. There currently are no known octopus farms operating in California. The Act aims to prevent intensive farming practices from being established.