Cupped oysters including the Pacific oyster and Eastern oyster are farmed globally, with welfare considerations for their physiological stress responses and harvesting conditions.
Cupped oyster welfare significance is very low based on current scientific understanding — their nervous systems are far simpler than those of vertebrates or decapod crustaceans. They respond to stimuli with valve closure but this reflex-based response is not indicative of subjective suffering. Scientific consensus suggests oysters are likely not sentient in a welfare-relevant sense. Nonetheless, environmental conditions including water quality, temperature and handling affect their physiological health and marketable condition.