Farm Animal Welfare

Farmed Insect Stunning Standards

Developing humane stunning standards for farmed insects at slaughter is an emerging welfare priority as insect farming scales rapidly.

Key Facts

Billions of insects are slaughtered daily in commercial farming with minimal welfare consideration
Chilling, freezing, and grinding are common slaughter methods with variable potential welfare impact
High-temperature steam or CO2 may provide rapid loss of consciousness in some insect species
Research into insect nociception and consciousness is needed to determine appropriate welfare standards
Regulatory frameworks for insect slaughter welfare are nascent in the EU and UK

Welfare Considerations

The precautionary principle supports developing and adopting the most humane slaughter methods for insects even in the absence of certainty about their consciousness.

What You Can Do

Support research into insect welfare and humane slaughter method development
Advocate for welfare standards in insect farming regulation covering slaughter
Choose insect-derived products from producers investing in humane production methods