3 April 2023

Across Europe, millions of caged rabbits are living in a real-life horror story. Crammed into tiny prisons with their peers – with no access to things to interact with and nowhere to exercise, play, and rest – their daily lives are filled with boredom, frustration and physical and mental suffering. The European Commission has the power to change that when revising the animal welfare legislation this year, by including specific laws for rabbits that address their needs.

Rabbits are fascinating, complex animals. Curious and social by nature, they love living in groups and socialising with others – but like any sentient being, it’s also important to them to be able to rest and spend time alone. What’s more, their teeth are always growing, so it’s important for rabbits to always have something to chew on.

Unfortunately, these essential needs are far from met in Europe’s current farming systems. Rather than having the space and opportunities to truly be themselves, rabbits are forced into tiny cages – many of which are no bigger than an A4 piece of paper – and, as our recent exposé revealed, forced to spend their days in the most miserable conditions.

Rabbits in cages experience a wealth of problems – some of which are deadly

These poor beings:

Are frequently stressed and frustrated, which can lead to injuries and health issues. In turn, a higher number of antibiotics are often used on factory farmed rabbits, driving the antimicrobial crisis

Are unable to move their bodies properly – many can’t even stand up or stretch out. This is mentally and physically distressing, and can cause painful problems such as frail bones

Struggle psychologically – high cortisol and low dopamine/serotonin levels are commonly seen in factory farmed rabbits, which are major indicators of poor mental health

Often suffer from digestive disorders due to poor hygiene – which can cause high mortality rates with kittens (baby rabbits) in particular

Can’t look after themselves or follow their instincts – with no materials to chew on, rabbits in cages can’t do anything about their ever-growing teeth, resulting in even more pain and difficulty eating.

Learn more about these issues on pages 17 – 19 of our new exposé report.

Europe’s farmed rabbits don’t have to live this way

Many of the problems farmed rabbits face are enabled by existing loopholes and oversights in the European Commission’s animal welfare legislation. What’s more, there are no existing laws that address the welfare of farmed rabbits specifically – which they desperately need. 

The European Commission has the power to change all of this when they revise the animal welfare legislation later this year, by including strong, precise, and  targeted rules for rabbit welfare that take into account their unique natures. 

Farmed rabbits have not been domesticated for as long as other farmed species, and still exhibit the same behaviours and instincts as seen in their wild counterparts. Life in a cage is an unimaginable struggle for them, and having already promised to End The Cage Age following a successful ECI, the European Commission must now consider how to phase out cages for these dynamic beings in a swift and effective manner. We’ve already done a lot of the groundwork by compiling case studies, scientific evidence, and data from across the EU that explores this transition in our new report.

Rabbits deserve better. They need their freedom and space, along with access to good nutrition, clean water, and enrichment materials with which they can play and look after themselves properly. There is no substitute for these basic needs.

We’re trying to change history for farm animals this year through phase two of the No Animal Left Behind campaign. Find out more.

Regards Mark

Uncovering the horrific reality of octopus farming

16 March 2023

CIWF

Eurogroup for Animals and Compassion in World Farming are calling for the world’s first commercial octopus farm to be scrapped, after plans obtained for its development revealed the animal cruelty and environmental consequences it would cause. Furthermore, they are calling on the EU not to use public funds to support octopus farming developments, or any other new industrial animal-based farming in the light of significant and growing scientific evidence that it is killing our planet.

The plans, submitted to the General Directorate of Fishing of the Government of the Canary Islands by the company Nueva Pescanova, and uncovered by Eurogroup for Animals, have raised serious concerns. These include the use of a cruel slaughter method, the confinement of octopuses in small barren tanks, and practices that contribute to the overexploitation of wild fish populations. The campaigners’ concerns over the plans are outlined in the new report Uncovering the horrific reality of octopus farming and confirmed by scientists in the field. 

They reveal that around one million octopuses will be reared at the proposed farm in the Port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, Spain, producing some 3,000 tonnes of octopus each year. 

They also confirm the campaigners’ fears that a number of extremely concerning practices would be implemented, including that octopuses would be:

Slaughtered using cruel ice slurry: a highly aversive and inhumane method scientifically proven to cause considerable pain, fear and suffering as well as a prolonged death. 

Confined in crowded, barren underwater tanks that will result in poor welfare and risk aggression, territorialism and even cannibalism due to the octopuses’ naturally solitary nature. 

Exposed to round-the-clock unnatural light to increase reproduction, which will cause undue stress given the aversion these animals have to light.

Fed with commercial feeds containing fishmeal and fish oil as main ingredients, which is unsustainable and contributes to the overfishing of wild populations. 

Raised within a land-based aquaculture system relating to higher risk of mass mortality due to the overcrowded conditions required for their profitability as well as negative environmental impacts stemming from the excessive use of energy.

In 2021, Compassion in World Farming released the report Octopus Factory Farming: A Recipe for Disaster, arguing that octopus farming is cruel and would cause environmental damage to our oceans. According to the report, experimental trials to farm octopuses suggest that the mortality rate in these systems would be around 20%, meaning that 1 in 5 individuals would not survive the entire production cycle.

Although, if approved, the Canary Islands farm would be the world’s first industrial octopus farm, there are attempts to establish similar octopus farms in other parts of the world such as Mexico and Japan. In February, Washington State in the US signalled a move toward banning octopus farming, which would be the first of its kind. This followed the recent closure of the only active octopus farm in the US, the “Kanaloa Octopus Farm” based in Hawaii, in response to Compassion in World Farming’s campaign. 

Octopus has become an increasingly popular food in recent decades, particularly in Spain. As a result, wild octopus numbers are dwindling. In 2015, the number of octopuses caught around the world reached a high of 400,000 tonnes – 10 times more than in 1950.

Blindly establishing a new farming system without consideration of the ethical and environmental implications is a step in all the wrong directions and flies in the face of the EU’s plans for a sustainable food transformation. With the current revision of the animal welfare legislation, the European Commission now has the real opportunity to avoid the terrible suffering of millions of animals. We cannot afford to leave aquatic animals behind. We’re calling on the EU to include a ban on octopus farming before it ever sees the light of day, in order to avoid plunging more sentient beings into a living hell.

Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals

We implore the Canary Islands authorities to reject Nueva Pescanova’s plans and we urge the EU to ban octopus farming as part of its current legislative review. It will inflict unnecessary suffering on these intelligent, sentient and fascinating creatures, which need to explore and engage with the environment as part of their natural behaviour. Their carnivorous diets require huge quantities of animal protein to sustain, contributing to overfishing at a time when fish stocks are already under immense pressure. Factory farming is the biggest single cause of animal cruelty on the planet, and it’s literally destroying our planet. We should be ending factory farming, not finding new species to confine in underwater factory farms. We must end octopus farming now.

Elena Lara, Research Manager at Compassion in World Farming

Uncovering the horrific reality of octopus farming

BROWSE TO THIS PUBLICATION

Regards Mark