Freshwater mussels are among the most imperiled animal groups on Earth, serving as critical ecosystem engineers while their potential for pain experience is scientifically debated.
Freshwater mussels face extreme conservation threats from habitat degradation, dams, agricultural runoff, invasive species, and climate change. Their welfare significance depends partly on the unresolved question of whether they are sentient. Evidence for nociception in bivalve mollusks includes nociceptors, behavioral responses to harmful stimuli, and physiological responses. The precautionary principle suggests treating them with care. Their ecological role as water filterers makes their conservation critically important for aquatic ecosystem health. Harvest for food, pearls, and buttons was historically unsustainable, reducing many species to near extinction. Recovery programs involve complex fish host identification and supplemental propagation.