Soil invertebrates including earthworms, beetles, and springtails perform essential ecological functions and have welfare interests that soil management practices can support or undermine.
Soil invertebrates are among the most numerous and ecologically significant animals in terrestrial environments, yet receive almost no welfare consideration in garden or agricultural management. Earthworms, beetles, millipedes, and springtails are killed in enormous numbers by cultivation, compaction, pesticide application, and soil chemistry changes from synthetic fertiliser use. Whether invertebrates experience welfare-relevant suffering is uncertain, but the precautionary principle — and the ecological importance of maintaining healthy soil invertebrate communities — argues for management practices that minimise unnecessary harm. No-dig gardening, mulching, avoiding compaction, and reducing synthetic inputs all benefit soil invertebrate populations while simultaneously improving garden productivity and ecological function.