Amphibians are the most threatened vertebrate class on Earth, facing extinction from habitat loss, disease, climate change, and the illegal trade - with massive welfare implications.
Amphibian welfare operates across multiple scales: individual animals suffering from chytrid disease or poor captive conditions, and populations experiencing the trauma of collapse. Disease-affected amphibians experience a painful death from skin dysfunction. Animals in the trade suffer from crowding, dehydration, and injury. At the population scale, the loss of entire species eliminates the welfare of every individual in those species - a permanent, irreversible welfare loss. Amphibian conservation is simultaneously species conservation and welfare protection at the largest possible scale.