Nueva Pescanova, a Spanish multinational, is planning to build the world's first octopus farm in the Canary Islands to raise about a million octopuses annually for food. And it sounds like the worst idea in a long time. Scientists have raised concerns over the welfare of these creatures as they have never been intensively farmed before, and some scientists consider the proposed slaughtering method to be cruel. The octopuses would be housed in around 1,000 communal tanks and killed by being put in containers of water kept at -3C. Octopuses are solitary animals used to the dark, and this method of slaughtering causes a slow, stressful death. Studies have shown that this method of slaughtering fish results in poor fish welfare, and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council is proposing a ban unless fish are stunned beforehand. So basically torture. On top of torture, the octopuses would be fed with industrially produced dry feed sourced from "discards and by-products" of already-caught fish. Circular yes, but healthy? Not sure. The proposal has led to opposition from lawmakers, scientists, and campaigners, who suggest that large numbers of octopuses should never be kept together nearby as it leads to stress, conflict, and high mortality. Furthermore, the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 in the UK recognized octopuses as "sentient beings," capable of feeling pain and pleasure, which has further raised concerns about the welfare of octopuses raised in captivity. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59667645