Maggot therapy uses living blowfly larvae to debride wounds in veterinary and medical settings, raising welfare questions about the sentience and pain capacity of fly larvae during treatment.
The welfare of fly larvae used in medical therapy is genuinely uncertain but merits consideration under precautionary principles. Lucilia sericata larvae possess nociceptors and show avoidance responses to stimuli that would be noxious in more complex animals. The application of larvae to wounds, where they are exposed to immune mediators and the wound environment, may involve experiences that are aversive, though evidence is limited. Clinically, the therapy offers significant benefits for patients and reduces antibiotic use. Research into larval nociception and the experience of maggot therapy conditions would inform more welfare-conscious application of this valuable treatment.