Animal Policy Alliance Members Share Groundbreaking Progress to Stop Octopus Factory Farming

That’s exactly what’s happening in the fight to ban octopus farming across the United States, as revealed in a recent episode of the Our Hen House podcast featuring Amanda Fox (Executive Director of Animal Rights Initiative), Allie Taylor (President of Voters for Animal Rights), and our own Brenna Anderst (Senior Policy Advisor at The Humane League).

The conversation illuminates why octopuses—highly intelligent beings who use tools, solve puzzles, and form emotional bonds—are particularly unsuited for industrial farming. These sensitive animals require live prey, are prone to escape, and become highly stressed in captivity. Yet corporations see them as just another product to be commodified.

“We have gotta make this animal abuse illegal.”

Amanda Fox, Executive Director of Animal Rights Initiative, described the evolution from vegan outreach to legislative action, rooted in a growing sense of urgency:

“We just realized more and more animals were being killed every single year. So we weren't gonna win anything with vegan outreach alone...finally we were like, we have gotta make this animal abuse illegal.”

Amanda’s organization led the charge in Washington, drafting a bill to prohibit octopus aquaculture—before any farms could be built. Their inspiration? “We have a lot of aquaculture in Washington state,” she explained, referencing the recent “net pen disaster”—when almost 300,000 Atlantic salmon escaped into Pacific waters. Lawmakers were primed to act fast to prevent another aquaculture catastrophe.

“Octopuses are so much more cognitively advanced than we can comprehend.”

Amanda also shared why octopus farming is especially egregious—not only for animal suffering, but for ecological risk:

“Octopuses...actually have more gene expressions than us, in multiple different ways. They have about a 150% more gene expressions than we do. So we can't even begin to comprehend their cognitive abilities.”

She described their complex needs—solitary, highly intelligent, and escape artists by nature. Octopuses use their tentacles to find live crustaceans, inject paralyzing venom, and even escape from aquariums: “They're always wreaking havoc. They're throwing rocks at the water, they're spraying lamps with water, flooding the facility.”

“If we can prevent a farming practice from becoming a thing, we can save thousands if not millions of animals.”

Allie Taylor, President of Voters for Animal Rights, powerfully summed up the coalition’s strategy:

“Once a farming practice becomes a thing, once it becomes something that makes money… It is nearly impossible to make a change in that. So we see this as—if we can prevent a farming practice from becoming a thing, period, we can preemptively save thousands if not millions of animals from being harmed in the first place.”

She explained that, while octopus consumption is still relatively rare, industry interests are eager to expand—making now the only chance to stop a new cruelty before it’s entrenched. “Look at the foie gras ban,” Allie said, “If people had realized years and years ago how horrible foie gras was, it probably wouldn't have ever become a thing, but now that it has money behind it, it is a huge thing.”

“We’re creating a partnership. We’re facilitating relationship building.”

Behind these state-level victories is a growing national alliance. Brenna Anderst, Senior Policy Advisor at The Humane League, described the Animal Policy Alliance’s work:

“Since 2022, we’ve now grown to 27 member organizations representing 19 states and Washington DC… What makes the Animal Policy Alliance so great and unique is that we have organizations that are brand new… But then we have other very seasoned advocates within the Alliance who have a number of successes in their repertoire and are able to provide strategic insights or assistance to some of our newer member group. So we're really creating a partnership.”

The APA’s collaborative approach means lessons learned in Washington and California are fueling legislative efforts in New York, Oregon, Hawaii, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and beyond. As Brenna put it, “We’re really trying to equip our APA members to be ready for any sort of opposition and know the right talking points to counter that opposition.”

“Every bill is a negotiation… But I think some progress is better than no progress.”

Legislative wins for animals require uncomfortable compromises—and creative arguments. The guests were candid about the trade-offs and strategic messaging required in legislative work. Allie shared:

“Every bill is a negotiation… But I think some progress is better than no progress.”

Amanda acknowledged the challenge of framing arguments for lawmakers who may not share animal advocates’ values. To counter this, Amanda and her colleagues have marshaled scientific testimony from researchers around the world to show the real ecological risks of octopus farming—especially the impact on wild crab and shellfish populations. “If they really understood octopuses and how they can harm crabs and shrimp and mollusks and other shellfish, they would really understand why we need to get ahead of this.”

“If you are in a state we didn’t mention, it’s still an ongoing process—and we can make it happen.”

This campaign is still gaining ground. Amanda said, “If someone wants to get involved, let's hook up. If you are in a state that we didn't mention already, that means it's still an ongoing process and we can make it happen. So let's do it.”

Brenna added, “If you’re just an advocate that is passionate about animal issues, I would definitely encourage you to go to our website… Check out all of our APA member organizations. You can also go to thehumaneleague.org and check out ways to take action through our organization as well. We have our Fast Action Network, which is really great—quick click actions that you can take to help animals.”

Federal action and how you can help

While local and state victories mount, a federal “Octopus Act” is being prepared for reintroduction in Congress. “We're excited to see something federally reintroduced,” Brenna said, “but that's why empowering advocates and organizations at the state and local level is so important, because these wins are happening and they are possible.”

Your voice matters in this fight. Together, we can ensure that octopuses—and all animals—are treated as the living, feeling beings they are, not as commodities to be exploited.

Listen to the full episode here.