Ethics and Invertebrates: The Problem Is Us

Simple Summary Why do we need a collection of papers about the welfare of invertebrates, and what do we need to learn from it? The most important reason is that they make up most of the animals on the planet, so animal welfare without invertebrates simply is not the welfare of animals. Being vertebrates and mammals, we have concentrated on knowing about animals like us, and so there is a huge lack of information about invertebrates. We cannot care about them if we do not know they exist. More than that, we do not particularly like them. They are often small, seen as ugly cockroaches, parasitic ticks, biting mosquitoes, but think instead of dazzling butterflies, flexible octopuses, attractive fireflies. Most of all, we do not think about their welfare because we see them as just machines, no complex behavior and intelligence, not deserving of care. Recent science research is changing that, and we are beginning to see that they are often very smart and sensitive and deserve our consideration. Why this is true and how we can extend welfare to non-vertebrates is the subject of this set of papers.

Abstract In the last few decades, science has begun to make great strides at understanding how varied, fascinating, and intelligent invertebrate animals are. Because they are poorly known, the invertebrates that make up about 98% of the animals on the planet have been overlooked. Because they are seen as both simple and unattractive, children and their teachers, as well as the general public, do not think they need care. Because until recently we did not know they can be both intelligent and sensitive—bees can learn from each other, butterflies can navigate huge distances, octopuses are smart, and lobsters can feel pain—we have to give them the consideration they deserve. This collection of papers should help us to see how the lives of invertebrates are tightly linked to ours, how they live, and what they need in terms of our consideration and care.