Octopuses demonstrate remarkable intelligence including puzzle-solving, play, and individual personalities, raising significant welfare questions about captive conditions.
Octopuses in captivity require complex, changing environments that reflect their intelligence and curiosity. Bare tanks cause rapid behavioural deterioration. They are solitary and cannot be housed together without injury. Farmed octopuses face the challenge that their welfare needs are fundamentally incompatible with economically viable intensive production. The concentration of neurons outside the brain means anaesthesia and slaughter procedures require particular care.