A controversial plan to commercially farm octopus for meat has led to a U.S. bill that would ban the practice, along with any imports linked to it. Bipartisan legislation to ban octopus farming was introduced in Congress on Friday, after NPR reported on the issue.
“Octopuses are among the most intelligent creatures in the oceans. And they belong at sea, not suffering on a factory farm,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, a co-author of the bill, said in a statement to NPR.
News of a planned farm in Spain sparked push in U.S.
The legislation comes as scientists and animal advocates express outrage over a plan by a large seafood company in Spain to farm octopuses on an unprecedented scale to harvest them for seafood. Whitehouse became aware of the company’s plan through the NPR story, according to the senator’s office.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: NPR
