Media Kit

The Insect Welfare Research Society is a global, academic-led society of researchers dedicated to the advancement of evidence-based insect welfare scholarship and practice.

We support:

1) the growth and connectivity of the insect welfare research community through our listserv, membership database, events, and small meeting and student research grants; and

2) the incorporation of evidence-based information on insect welfare into policy and practice by relevant stakeholders through our reference library, research guidelines, and events.

Quick Facts about Insect Welfare

  • There are over one million described species of insects and over five million species estimated to exist.

  • Trillions of insects are farmed as food and feed. Billions are used in research. Quadrillions are impacted by human management practices in the wild.

  • While there is currently no scientific consensus, some insects meet many of the criteria that are considered relevant to the experience of pain. More research on their sentience and welfare is urgently needed. (Read the IWRS statement on insect welfare).

Quick Facts about the IWRS

  • Founded as an interdisciplinary research society in March 2023. (Find out more about the IWRS).

  • Directed, run, and advised by a globally-distributed team of academics from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, including entomology, animal welfare science, and philosophy. (Find out more about our leadership).

  • Supports scholarship focused on the welfare of insects and other understudied invertebrates (including spiders, crabs, millipedes, shrimp, etc.) in farmed, wild, and research contexts.

Primary Media Contact

Meghan Barrett, PhD
Founding Director
Email: director@insectwelfare.com

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