Do Captive Insect Welfare Regulations Exist?
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Faunalytics.org
May 2020

The fact that a unified view has never existed and is unlikely to emerge renders consideration of insect welfare akin to ‘a suicide mission’, the authors proclaim. Laws of most countries do not take insects into consideration. Such speciesism seemingly can only be challenged by animal advocates.

Black bee - Photo by Marc Schulte on Unsplash

Our negative impact on wild insect populations is manifold, ranging from individuals killed on our car windshields, under our feet, or after exposure to our pest management approaches. Arguably the most successful animals on Earth are actually perceived by us in a greatly varied fashion, mainly falling into one the following three categories depending on species:

• Dislike: we see many insects as bad, dangerous and/or repellent. They are disliked because they sting, transmit diseases, are annoying or destroy our possessions, be it food, clothes or gardens. Scientific names ascribed to such insects are very telling (e.g. flies named Haematobia irritans or Calliphora vomitoria) of our feelings towards them.
• Like: we like a few insects: butterflies, scarabs, ladybirds, bees and dragonflies are notable examples. Here again, we name colorful butterflies in the names of Greek goddesses (e.g. Troides helena, Speyeria aphrodite) to express our fondness.
• Ignorance: we ignore the majority of insects – their existence is not recognized in our lives. Even taxonomists are aware of just a fraction of all insect species and little is known of their biology.

A collaboration between two scientists of Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (Germany) and the University of Kent (U.K.) resulted in a scholarly book chapter on welfare issues posed by keeping insects in captivity.

The fact that a unified view has never existed and is unlikely to emerge renders consideration of insect welfare akin to ‘a suicide mission’, the authors proclaim. Laws of most countries do not take insects into consideration. Such speciesism seemingly can only be challenged by animal advocates....

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