Freshwater mussels are among the most endangered animals globally, and their conservation intersects with genuine welfare questions about bivalve sentience.
Freshwater mussel welfare sits at the intersection of conservation urgency and genuine sentience uncertainty. These animals are collapsing across river systems from pollution, sedimentation, and dam construction — welfare harms at population scale from habitat destruction. Individual welfare considerations, while uncertain given limited sentience evidence, argue for minimizing handling stress during captive propagation and reintroduction. The conservation case for investing in freshwater mussel recovery is overwhelming given their ecosystem engineering role. Supporting their conservation produces indirect welfare benefits across entire river systems for all species dependent on the clean water mussels provide.