In simple terms, the public demand for higher fish welfare just isn’t being met.

Alex Cragun, U.S. Head of Campaigns at Compassion in World Farming added: “Our new survey shows that the overwhelming majority of U.S. citizens polled care about the welfare of farmed fish. However, many are unaware of the cruelty that can be inflicted on-farm and during slaughter. All this needless suffering occurs because they lack legal protection. Fish, like animals farmed on land, are sentient beings, who need laws to minimize their suffering. We need Congress to respond to the public’s concerns by passing the OCTOPUS Act of 2024 and introducing legislation providing federal protections for farmed fish.”

The survey was completed by 1,053 respondents in the U.S. between March 20 and April 5, 2024. The surveyed samples were representative of the national population in terms of age, gender and region. The survey was carried out in a total of 12 countries, in partnership with Eurogroup for Animals, including China, Czechia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands and United Kingdom.