Black soldier fly larvae are increasingly farmed as sustainable protein sources for aquaculture and pet food, raising emerging welfare questions about conditions in mass insect farming.
Insect farming welfare science is in its infancy, but the precautionary argument suggests that conditions minimising likely suffering are appropriate even under uncertainty. For BSF specifically, evidence of sentience is weaker than for bees or flies, but the enormous numbers involved make precautionary welfare standards worth developing. Industry bodies are beginning to produce guidance for humane rearing and slaughter of farmed insects.