The welfare of soil invertebrates like earthworms represents the most uncertain and numerically vast frontier of animal welfare, with agricultural practices causing enormous potential suffering.
Earthworm welfare sits at the most uncertain frontier of animal welfare science. The numbers involved are staggering - agricultural practices may kill billions of earthworms per year through tillage. Whether earthworms have subjective experience of their nociceptive responses is deeply uncertain. Adopting a precautionary principle suggests that where equivalent agricultural outcomes can be achieved with less earthworm mortality - through no-till farming and reduced pesticide use - this should be preferred. These practices also improve soil health and biodiversity, creating aligned incentives regardless of one's position on earthworm sentience.