Freshwater mussels are among the most endangered animals on Earth, with nearly 70% of North American species at risk. Their conservation raises questions about invertebrate welfare in the context of biodiversity loss.
Freshwater mussels occupy an ambiguous position in welfare discussions — their sentience is uncertain, and their sedentary filter-feeding lifestyle makes their inner experience difficult to assess. However, as among the most threatened animal groups on Earth, their conservation has moral significance regardless of where the sentience question is resolved. The ecological role of mussels — cleaning water, providing habitat, and cycling nutrients — creates benefits for millions of other animals including those with clearer welfare stakes. Protecting mussels is therefore a welfare-relevant action even if the mussels themselves have limited capacity for suffering. The precautionary principle, combined with their ecological importance, makes freshwater mussel conservation a defensible welfare priority.