Reasons for the Action

Our objectives are complex and go beyond the scope of individual research efforts

• Coordination and integration of national research projects to reduce defragmentation
• Collaboration to solve these challenging issues & develop comprehensive knowledge of cephalopod welfare
• Specialized training and sharing of specialized facilities
• Interaction among researchers with expertise on welfare in different taxa to advance animal welfare & 3R use
• Concerted efforts to promote cephalopod welfare & conservation in research, aquaculture, and fisheries.

The call for this Action comes from a significant gap between the requirements of the new law and the available knowledge. Reasons for the Action include:

• Establish linkages among European researchers working on all aspects of cephalopod biology, including welfare, health, management and aquaculture, to promote a concerted action to advance cephalopod welfare and best practices, integrating knowledge from other species;

• Newly developed general guidelines for cephalopods husbandry and best experimental practices need to be diffused and implemented, as well as improved through feedback from the whole community of European cephalopod researchers;

• The gaps in the knowledge about cephalopod welfare need to be filled through a concerted action;

• Further species-specific guidelines on additional cephalopods species, used in research but not currently included in the general guidelines, need to be developed;

• The research of practices  inspired to the 3R principles to be applied in cephalopods;

• A specialized training is required for both qualified veterinarians and technicians, with specific expertise on cephalopods, as well as for people that capture them from the wild, especially in light of the new Directive;

• The urge of promoting a humane treatment of cephalopods and a reduction of their capture from the wild in aquaculture as in research.