Growing evidence for pain and stress responses in invertebrates including insects, crustaceans and cephalopods is reshaping ethical frameworks for these abundant animals.
The moral consideration of invertebrates remains scientifically and philosophically contested but the precautionary argument is compelling. If insects and other invertebrates experience even a fraction of what vertebrates do, then improvements in their treatment would represent enormous welfare gains simply because of their numbers. This is a rapidly developing area of welfare science.