Insect populations are declining dramatically worldwide, with cascading consequences for ecosystems and increasing evidence that many insects can experience functional states analogous to pain and stress.
The question of insect sentience and welfare is scientifically contested but increasingly taken seriously by researchers. Evidence of nociception, avoidance learning, and motivational states in insects suggests that the billions of individual insects affected by habitat destruction, pesticide poisoning, and light pollution may experience some form of harm worth considering. Even setting aside individual welfare, the ecological consequences of insect decline are catastrophic for all vertebrate wildlife that depends on insects for food, pollination, and decomposition services. Protecting insect populations is simultaneously an ecosystem conservation priority and potentially an individual welfare concern.