Animal rights activists protest octopus farm plans in Spain

MADRID — Animal rights activists collected Sunday in Madrid to protest plans for the development of an octopus farm in Spain, announcing there are not any respective rules in the rustic and the European Union to ensure the welfare of the animals in captivity.

The proposed farm, which targets to reproduce octopuses on a massive scale in captivity, is scheduled to be constructed subsequent yr in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.

A couple of dozen other people confirmed as much as categorical their considerations referring to a undertaking that plans to restrict 3 million octopuses in swimming pools, regardless of those creatures being solitary predators in their herbal habitat.

“It is similar to imprisoning tigers together. They will prey on one another and will also attempt to escape due to their high intelligence and adeptness”, mentioned Jaime Poasada, a spokesperson for the protest known as via more than a few animal welfare organizations.

Octopuses grown in captivity will behave otherwise from the ones in the wild, mentioned Nova Pescanova, the seafood corporate selling this farm. Since 2018, the corporate has run a pilot undertaking in a analysis facility in northern Spain, the place they have got succeeded in breeding 5 captivity-born generations of the cephalopod.

“It is not possible to grow any (animal) species in the European Union without respecting their welfare conditions. It is the standard, and our group does nothing but comply with guidelines and legislations,” mentioned Roberto Romero, the multinational’s aquaculture director.

Since the call for for octopus intake has been on the upward thrust, farming octopuses is being considered a primary step in opposition to making sure sustainable meals manufacturing.

Octopus is a staple in the Mediterranean vitamin, in particular in style in Spain and Italy, even if either one of them import lots of the octopus they eat. Recently, the worldwide call for for this delicacy has expanded, with nations just like the United States witnessing a 23% build up in imports and China experiencing a 73% surge between 2016 and 2018, consistent with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.