Freshwater pearl mussels (Margaritifera margaritifera) are among the world's most endangered animals. Their conservation involves careful habitat management, captive breeding and translocation - with emerging welfare considerations.
Freshwater mussel conservation sits at the intersection of conservation biology and emerging welfare considerations. While the sentience of bivalves is actively debated, the precautionary principle suggests that welfare considerations in captive breeding and translocation procedures warrant attention. More centrally, the welfare of the entire river ecosystem - including the salmon that pearl mussels depend on as larval hosts - is inseparable from pearl mussel conservation. Restoring river water quality, flow regimes and salmon populations is both a pearl mussel conservation necessity and a broader ecological welfare improvement for fish, invertebrates and the river community.