Welfare Considerations for Farmed Black Soldier Flies – Hermetia illucens (Rethink Priorities)
- ~200-300 billion black soldier flies (BSFs) are reared as protein for farmed animal and pet feed across the globe, and the industry is expected to grow. BSFs are anticipated to become the most farmed insect species in the next decade.
- Farmed insect welfare is poorly understood, and animal welfare in the industry is completely unregulated, despite some interest in insect welfare by producers, consumers, and academics.
- A species-specific review of the empirical literature on BSFs is necessary to identify welfare concerns during the rearing and slaughter of both larvae and adults.
- This peer-reviewed academic publication discusses the many factors that may affect BSF welfare in commercial rearing facilities, including: diseases/parasites, abiotic conditions (temperature, humidity/moisture, larval feed aeration, light, pupation materials, adult spatial needs), nutrition, injury/crowding, handling-associated stress, selective breeding and genetic modification, environmental contaminants, and slaughter methods.
- Some of the most pressing current welfare concerns identified include: starvation of adult BSFs, spatial/environmental conditions inappropriate for the completion of natural behaviors, inhumane larval slaughter methods, and poor-quality larval nutrition (among others). Future areas of concern include pathogens/parasites, genetic modification or selective breeding programs, and the use of low-quality larval feed for large-scale rearing.
- In addition, the paper provides recommendations for altering conditions that may give rise to pressing BSF welfare concerns, and suggests future research directions that would help assess or improve BSF welfare.
- Ultimately, a welfare investigation should be performed for each species of farmed insect, preferably with input from entomologists and industry specialists (who may lend valuable insight as to how common or important particular welfare concerns are likely to be). These reviews can then be used to develop welfare assessments for insects, and inform welfare policy for the insect farming industry.