In a historic win for octopuses, Washington state passed a law prohibiting octopus farming to prevent any future attempts to exploit these magnificent animals. This ban is the first crucial step in making the world a safer place for cephalopods.

HB 1153 passed the Senate with a 29-20 vote, and it passed the House 70-27. On March 13, 2024, the governor signed the bill into law. The bill banned octopus farming by excluding octopus from the definition of "private sector cultured aquatic products" and explicitly states that “a person may not participate in octopus aquaculture in Washington.” 

Octopuses are intelligent, sentient beings and are naturally curious animals. They are known to be able to solve complex puzzles, escape from their enclosures, and throw things at one another! Their ability to disguise themselves and manipulate their cells to perfectly match their backgrounds shows an acute awareness of their surroundings. If octopus farming were allowed to develop, these animals would suffer from a severe lack of stimulation.

Octopuses do not breed in captivity — a sign that we cannot meet their basic needs — and females make the ultimate sacrifice after laying their eggs, devotedly protecting their clutch until they die. They are carnivores, and most of the fish suitable for octopuses to eat are consumed by humans, so farming octopuses would add pressure to depleted wild fish populations. 

In Defense of Animals has been working to stop the development of octopus farming in its tracks, and our campaigners provided testimony on this Washington bill during both the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions. 

We have also been working to stop an octopus farm from developing in the Canary Islands, and campaigned for the NHL to ban octopus throwing at hockey games. 

Check out In Defense of Animals’ other efforts to save wild animals, and consider making a donation to support our work to save marine and land animals of all kinds!