The question of whether invertebrates - insects, crustaceans, and other species - can suffer is increasingly important as they are used in massive numbers in food systems, research, and pest control.
Invertebrate sentience represents the cutting edge of animal welfare science, where the stakes are enormous - hundreds of billions of animals in industrial systems - and the evidence is still emerging. The precautionary principle suggests that where there is credible evidence of possible suffering, we should take welfare-protective measures even before certainty is achieved. For crustaceans, the evidence is now strong enough that several jurisdictions have extended legal protections. For insects, the picture is more uncertain but the sheer scale of industrial insect rearing demands that we take the question seriously.