Freshwater mussels are the most imperiled animal group in North America — their welfare and conservation are both neglected.
Freshwater mussels have a welfare status that is genuinely uncertain — their nervous systems are simple enough that pain experience in any meaningful sense is questionable. However, their conservation crisis is one of the most severe of any animal group in North America, with dire ecological consequences for freshwater ecosystem health. Protecting freshwater mussels protects the water quality that millions of animals depend on. Whether or not mussels have welfare-relevant experiences, their decline creates welfare crises for the many sentient animals that depend on healthy freshwater ecosystems.