The Boston Globe quotes Robyn Crook on cephalopod research and welfare
A new story in the Boston Globe by David Abel covers the growing efforts to provide federal-level research protection for cephalopods. This controversial subject rests on determinations of cephalopod sentience, intelligence and capacity for affective state, all of which suggest regulation of research on cephalopods is warranted. This article focuses on the cephalopod breeding and research efforts at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, where our laboratory brood-stock originates. The Crook Lab upholds the highest standards of welfare and husbandry for the cephalopods we use in our studies, and our work on applied welfare-based questions has become a touchstone for regulatory efforts in other nations. Our aim is to support the ongoing discussions of cephalopod regulation and welfare with well designed studies, to improve the lives of cephalopods in research, fisheries and display. It is great to see ongoing public-facing discourse on this important topic.