Freshwater mussels are among the most imperilled animals on Earth, with over 70% of species at risk from pollution, sedimentation, and habitat modification.
While the sentience of freshwater mussels remains scientifically uncertain, their functional importance to aquatic ecosystems and the suffering of other sentient species dependent on healthy mussel-filtered water argues strongly for their protection. Population collapses remove the filtration services entire river systems depend on. Pollution that kills mussel beds causes cascading suffering for fish and other aquatic animals that rely on clean water.