Freshwater mussels are among the most endangered animal groups globally, with Pearl mussel populations in the UK at critically low levels, raising conservation welfare questions about habitat restoration and captive breeding programs.
Freshwater mussel conservation raises welfare questions for both the mussels themselves and the fish species they parasitize. The capacity of freshwater mussels for pain or negative experience is genuinely uncertain given their rudimentary nervous systems. The conservation imperative for species on the brink of extinction drives captive breeding programs that involve collection from wild populations and controlled conditions. The interdependence of pearl mussel recovery with salmon and trout host fish restoration means improving conditions for one group simultaneously benefits the other.