Over 11,000 people have signed a petition demanding the Canadian government ban octopus farms from opening in the country.
In February, federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May sponsored a petition from the BC SPCA calling for a ban on the aquacultural practice.
The BC SPCA says there are currently no octopus farms operating in Canada, but with a growing appetite for the delicacy around the world, the worry is that the country's coasts could become hotbeds for farming.
"We're really concerned about these animals' welfare on farms," said Melissa Speirs, the BC SPCA manager of farm animal welfare.
"We would like to see the federal government ban octopus farming in Canada and ban the importation of cephalopod products."
The preventative measures are already being worked on the south of the border.
Washington state lawmakers are working to pass Bill 1153, which would eliminate octopus farming, a decision made after animal rights and environmental groups brought the issue to their attention.
"We don't have a proposed octopus farm coming to Washington state," said Rep. Strom Peterson, Washington District 21 representative. "So this is more of a statement bill: 'Hey, let's take a look at this in Washington state and let's talk to our neighbours to the north and south."
Peterson says the bill didn't make it through the process this year and will be tabled again in January 2024, where he believes it will be supported by both Democrats and Republicans.
Questions revolving around the ethics of octopus farming have been raised by more than politicians. Marine biologists have also warned that the practice could be inhumane.
"There's that ethical concern that they're very intelligent animals that can learn and interact, and then there are animal welfare considerations if you have to have them in close quarters," said Dr. Chris Harley, a marine biologist at UBC.
Harley also says there is limited research on the implications of octopus being mass-produced. He says there isn't a successful history of culturing the animal, which could lead to potential diseases spreading.
He says only a handful of countries are farming octopus, and with octopus popping up on more menus around the globe, companies are looking to get into the business.
"We do know it takes an awful amount of food to produce a kilogram of octopus. Maybe twice as much food as a kilogram of salmon or shrimp," said Harley. "You could probably do it but it's more intensive."
Harley also questions the sustainably of the farm, as octopus feed on fish and other animals which would require the farmer to use additional ocean life to maintain its health.
The petition is open until May 16, when it is then expected to be delivered to the federal government to review.
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity 'quite simply false,' and said Tuesday he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should see to it that mass murderers serve their entire sentences in maximum-security prison.
The number of interactions between killer whales and humans has increased alarmingly in recent years. CTVNews.ca asked an expert to explain the reasons behind the increase in interactions, explore the types of encounters, and examine the implications for both humans and killer whales.
The PGA Tour ended its expensive fight with Saudi Arabia's golf venture and now is joining forces with it, making a stunning announcement Tuesday of a merger that creates a commercial operation with the Public Investment Fund and the European tour.
Across Canada, the average price of rent climbed back up after pandemic lows, with the monthly rate new tenants face now 20 per cent higher than it was two years ago, according to just-released rental data.
While the Liberals insist a Pacific Rim trade bloc should welcome anyone who meets its standards, an internal document suggests Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants China kept out.
The federal government has given an updated deal to a public-service union that signed its collective agreement in the fall in order to match deals reached with the Public Service Alliance of Canada during a strike this spring.
Prince Harry entered a courtroom witness box Tuesday, swearing to tell the truth in testimony against a tabloid publisher he accuses of phone hacking and other unlawful snooping.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
The Regional District of Nanaimo will submit resolutions to the Union of BC Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities calling for an increased tax exemption for volunteer firefighters and search and rescue personnel.
The province is revealing its housing cards, as 37 more municipalities have been identified as the next group that will be required to create housing targets in their communities to help combat the ongoing housing shortfall.
Calgary-based Cenovus Energy says it has safely restarted a portion of its production that was shut down because of the threat of wildfires in northern and central Alberta.
Innisfail RCMP say an officer was attacked by the driver and passenger of a truck they'd stopped on suspicion of impaired driving on Saturday, but the accused's lawyer has a different story of the encounter.
Police in Australia are investigating the suspicious death of a woman who used to live in Surrey, BC, after her body was found in her apartment on the outskirts of Sydney.
Mounties in the town of McLennan, Alta. are hoping members of the public can help them identify two men who tried to steal a bank machine from the local ATB Financial.
The actions of the teen who repeatedly slashed a North York massage parlour receptionist 42 times with a sword, killing her and injuring her manager, were an act of terrorism, an Ontario Superior Court Justice found Monday in a 'historical' decision in Canada.
The smell of smoke is in the air throughout the city of Toronto and could get worse before the week is over as wildfires continue to burn in Quebec and northern Ontario.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on the correctional services commissioner to “step aside, step down, or [..] be fired” after moving serial killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison.
One Quebec city that had been threatened by approaching wildfires has lifted an evacuation order, but other parts of the province continue to deal with out-of-control blazes that are taxing firefighting resources.
Insurance industry group Equite Association says vehicle theft in multiple provinces surged last year. Vehicle theft was up by 50 per cent in Quebec year over year, by 48.3 per cent in Ontario, by 34.5 per cent in Atlantic Canada and by 18.3 per cent in Alberta.
Montrealers woke up to hazy sun and smoky skies again Tuesday morning. Northerly winds from wildfires burning north of the city continue to blow smoke into Southern Quebec.
A Ukrainian woman who now lives in Winnipeg is hoping one day she will be able to bring her husband's remains to her new home, a place he hoped one day he too would be able to call home.
While Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) publicly mulled moving its downtown emergency shelter to a location on 20th Street near the city's core, city documents reveal the wellness centre's present Fairhaven area location was heavily favoured early in the process.
Over 50 people were packed into an un-air-conditioned council chamber in Yorkton on Monday, looking for more clarity on the future of the city’s public library.
It’s been 79 years since the war effort known as ‘D-Day,’ which eventually led to the liberation of western Europe during World War II. The day was marked with a service in Normandy with the Royal Regina Rifles on hand.
Firefighters battling the 25,000-hectare Shelburne wildfire say the wet weather has helped crews directly attack the blaze, now they’re hoping for a break in the rain.
Hammonds Plains Road reopened to traffic early Tuesday morning more than week after wildfires began in the Halifax area. Officials say the fires in the area are contained, though crews continue to deal with hot spots and flare ups.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Marking the two year anniversary of the alleged terror attack that took the lives of four members of the same family, the board has announced an Anti-Islamophobia Strategy.
On this day in 2021, four out of five members of a London, Ont. family were killed while they were out for a walk and struck by a vehicle, in an apparently deliberate attack.
An investigation is underway after a crash between a car and a transport truck on Tuesday morning. It happened around 9 a.m. on Highbury Avenue near Ron McNeil Line, north of St. Thomas.
While firefighters get more forest fires under control in northern Ontario, travel restrictions declared under an emergency order are being expanded in several communities.
A 13-year-old male from Elliot Lake in northern Ontario has been charged with sexual assault again, bringing the total to 10, after another survivor came forward.
A grieving widow whose husband was run over and killed by a speeding OPP officer can't believe the force told her it won't hold a public hearing into the case because it decided the misconduct was 'not serious.'
The Coalition of Muslim Women (CMW) of KW is organizing a vigil on Tuesday evening to commemorate the lives lost on June 6, 2021 when four out of the five members of the Afzaal family were struck and killed by a man in a truck in London, Ont.
