Beau Bridges on Leaving Sea Animals in the Ocean and off His Plate

Celebrated actor and director Beau Bridges’ name is well known in Hollywood—you may have seen his films The Fabulous Baker Boys and Charlotte’s Web or, more recently, the hugely successful Netflix series Bloodline. But some may not know that he’s also a thoughtful and passionate vegan. The award-winning star recently spoke with PETA about the extraordinary intelligence of octopuses and other animals of the sea. He noted, “Humans have only one heart, compared to an octopus’s three, but surely, we can show sea animals compassion by leaving them in the ocean and off our plates.”

It’s vital to try and relate to sea life as we long have with cats and dogs—all animals, including octopuses and fish, feel pain, fear, loneliness, and joy.

Fish enjoy companionship, develop relationships with each other, and grieve when their companions die. Octopuses use tools, and in captivity, they’ve been known to open childproof jars, play with toys, deliberately short-circuit bright lights, and make daring escapes after determining that no one was watching. Like humans, lobsters have a long childhood and an awkward adolescence, carry their young for nine months, and can live to be more than 100 years old.

The sea is filled with complex beings—yet more aquatic animals are killed for food each year than all other species combined.

Imagine being pulled from a tank, flung onto a table, and pinned down as your arms and legs are cut off.

On the heels of our groundbreaking investigation of restaurants in New York City and Los Angeles that serve live animals, PETA has revealed that live octopuses and other sea animals are also being mutilated, butchered and served to diners in Canadian restaurants.

The science is clear: As cephalopod expert Dr. Jennifer Mather explains, octopuses “can anticipate a painful, difficult, stressful situation—they can remember it. There is absolutely no doubt that they feel pain.”

PETA filed a complaint with the Ontario SPCA, which agreed that octopuses are protected by cruelty-to-animals legislation and promptly informed Marado Sushi—a restaurant in Toronto where sea animals are served live—of the law. This may be the first time that cruelty-to-animals legislation has ever been used to protect octopuses in North American restaurants.

PETA is calling on people everywhere to spare sensitive aquatic animals the agony of being impaled, mutilated, crushed, cut open, and gutted. They deserve to live as much as any animal on land, including humans. Let fish and all other living, feeling beings have the peace that they deserve—go vegan today. We’ll help you get started: