Keep them wild.
Octopuses are solitary, intelligent, and short-lived. They do not belong in factory tanks. Industrial farming of octopus does not currently meet any published cephalopod welfare standard.
The standpoint, in three lines
- No farmed octopus on European shelves. Spanish farms have missed every public timeline since 2021. There is still time to keep them off the market.
- Welfare science is clear enough to act. Birch et al. (2021) found strong or substantial evidence of sentience in cephalopods. The UK formally recognised cephalopod sentience in the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022.
- Retailers decide what gets stocked. Supplier codes shape upstream demand. A short, polite email is a measurable signal.
What you can do
You don't need to be a policymaker to act on this. Pick one:
- Email a supermarket. Ask whether they stock farmed octopus and what their policy is. We have ready-made templates for six major European retailers, in three languages — pick one below.
- Share this campaign. Forward a post or this page to someone who cares about food, animals, or the EU policy file. The single biggest signal we can send to the policy world is broad public attention. Plus: tag a policymaker you know personally.
Send one email. It takes 30 to 60 seconds. Retailers count these inquiries and aggregate them into category reviews.
Spain
Where the first commercial farms are being considered. Spanish default, English toggle.
Netherlands
Albert Heijn is included for Dutch shoppers. Ahold Delhaize has cross-EU supply-chain influence.
Other retailers
Use the generic template if your retailer is not above. You fill in the name and email yourself, verify first.
Are you a policymaker?
The Keep Them Wild pledge is a public call by Compassion in World Farming and Eurogroup for Animals, signed by ministers, MPs, MEPs, and local government officials. If that's you:
Sign the Keep Them Wild pledgeOpens on the official campaign site by CIWF and Eurogroup for Animals.
- CIWF (2021), Octopus Factory Farming: A Recipe for Disaster, by Dr Elena Lara, Compassion in World Farming International. Pages 11, 14, 16, 31, 32.CIWF-PRIMARY
- Birch et al. (2021), Review of the evidence of sentience in cephalopod molluscs, London School of Economics.STRICT
- UK Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022, statutory recognition of cephalopod and decapod sentience.STRICT