A company in Spain was days away from building the world's first commercial octopus farm. The plan was to cram nearly a million octopuses, animals that are naturally solitary and active at night, into shared tanks under constant light. They would live out their only lives crowded together until they were slaughtered by freezing. Thankfully, the project just collapsed after years of protests and a legal fight over its environmental impact. But the company has already said it won't rule out trying again somewhere else.
Sign the petition urging the European Commission and European Parliament to pass an EU-wide ban on octopus farming before any company gets the chance.
Scientists have found growing evidence that octopuses are sentient. They feel pain, experience stress, and show signs of distress when confined. Packed into tanks together, they turn aggressive toward each other, and in at least one facility studying octopus farming, workers reported octopuses attacking and eating one another. A 2026 scientific review found strong evidence that these animals understand what is happening to them.
Washington and California have already banned octopus farming outright. New York's ban is awaiting the governor's signature. Mexico has introduced a national bill to do the same, and Spain and Chile are considering similar laws. Lawmakers around the world are recognizing that this practice should never get off the ground in the first place.
The European Union has the power to close this door for good. A single EU-wide ban would stop any company, in any member state, from reviving a project like this one. Without it, the next attempt is only a matter of time, and the next generation of octopuses could still end up in a windowless warehouse, waiting to be turned into seafood.
Sign the petition and tell the European Commission and European Parliament to ban octopus farming across the EU before it ever begins.
