Bill banning octopus farming in Washington state passes House committee

Legislation to ban octopus farming in Washington state cleared a legislative hurdle with a do-pass recommendation from the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee during its Friday morning executive session.

Passed out of committee by a 9-2 vote, House Bill 1153 would make it illegal for any person or company to raise the eight-limbed mollusks in the state for human consumption.

The creatures are an in demand food source, leading to consideration of the creation of aquaculture farms.

“We currently do not allow octopus farming, or do not have octopus farming in Washington, and this bill keeps it that way,” Rep. Shelley Kloba, D-Kirkland, said before running into some linguistic difficulties with the plural form of octopus. “I think there were some very persuasive arguments when we heard testimony about the environmental issues that would be endemic to this, as with any aquatic – aquaculture – and then, you know, just in terms of the octopi – octopodes, octopuses, whatever you want to call it – themselves.”

According to Merriam-Webster, “octopi” is the oldest plural form of “octopus,” owing to the belief that words of Latin origin should have Latin endings. “Octopuses” is the preferred plural, giving the word an English ending to match its adoption as an English word.

Lawmakers took testimony on the issue last week during a public hearing before the committee, where supporters of HB 1153 contended that allowing octopus farms in Washington could be bad for the environment, while also pointing out it would be inhumane to farm and eat such intelligent animals.

Amanda Fox with the Animal Rights Initiative noted both issues during her testimony in favor of HB 1153.

She mentioned the bill would help the state avoid a disaster similar to the 2017 fish farming spill near the San Juan Islands that saw some 260,000 non-native salmon released into Puget Sound due to a net pen collapse.

Fox also referred to a London School of Economics report which found octopuses are sentient creatures, prompting the United Kingdom, according to her, to amend its laws to officially recognize the animals as such.

“The report emphasized that high-welfare octopus farming is not possible due to the asocial nature of these animals,” she told the committee. “Intensive farming practices force octopuses into confined spaces, denying them the stimulating environment that they are accustomed to in the wild.”

She went on to say, “Octopuses are highly intelligent, capable of problem-solving, and have the capacity to experience complex emotion.”

Kloba agreed.

“They are not appropriate for a factory farming type of a situation, and so I appreciate any of the support of this bill that prohibits octopus farming,” she told fellow committee members at Friday’s gathering.

Lawmakers had a little fun with the unusual subject matter of the legislation.

“I have to say I’ve gotten more input from back home on this one than probably anything I’ve ever seen in the Legislature,” Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, joked. “Actually not. We have no octopuses in Eastern Washington, but the testimony we heard [last week] was pretty compelling. They’re a pretty amazing creature, and I think this is a good idea.”

He then said Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, had previously mentioned possibly proposing a “tentacle amendment” to HB 1153.

Chair Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, got in on the joke.

“The chair will not recognize Rep. Orcutt for a rejoinder,” he said to raucous laughter from committee members and the audience.