Composting with worms (vermiculture) is increasingly popular for waste reduction, but raises welfare questions about worm housing, harvesting and population management.
Vermiculture represents one of the most direct ways ordinary people interact with worm welfare. Home and commercial vermicomposting creates responsibilities for the welfare of the worms being kept. The primary welfare risks are avoidable: maintaining appropriate moisture (worms breathe through their skin - drying causes suffocation), temperature below 30 degrees Celsius, pH balance, and avoiding overfeeding with acidic or protein-rich materials that cause worm flight behavior indicating discomfort. Harvesting using light-separation methods is considerably more humane than physical sorting. A well-maintained worm bin with healthy, active worms producing rich compost is both environmentally valuable and represents good animal stewardship at the household level.