Insects in ethics

Insects in ethics concerns ethical views about the moral status and treatment of insects, including whether humans have obligations to avoid harming or killing them. The topic is discussed in religious teachings about non-violence and compassion, in historical writing on attitudes towards harming insects, and in modern debates in animal ethics and animal welfare about insect sentience, pain, and consciousness.

Some traditions, including Jainism and Buddhism, describe practices intended to reduce accidental harm to insects. In contemporary ethical discussion, writers disagree about what can be known about insect subjective experience and how moral duties, if any, should apply in practice, including in scientific experimentation, pest control and the use of insecticides, and products that involve killing insects, such as silk.

The subject is also represented in literature and idiom, including claims of sympathy for insects in early modern drama and poetry, and expressions such as "wouldn't hurt a fly" and "wouldn't hurt a flea".