Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) the sentience of cephalopods and (b) their capability to feel pain; and whether cephalopods are included in the definition of animal in the draft sentience Bill.

We are continuing to engage with stakeholders to further refine the Government’s proposals on animal sentience. As part of this we are continuing to assess which animals should be covered by those proposals.