Cochineals
Types of Use
Harvested wild and farmed to produce carmine dye
Species Impacted
Dactylopius coccus, other Dactylopius insects
Total Animals Impacted
4.6T to 22T deaths caused by industry
22B to 89B killed per year for dye
Key Welfare Considerations
Between 22B and 89B adult female cochineals are killed per year directly to produce carmine dye, of which between 17B and 71B are wild, and between 4B and 18B are farmed
The farming of cochineal directly causes 4.6T to 21T additional deaths, primarily of male and female cochineal nymphs, and adult male cochineals
The deaths of nymphs, usually via starvation, are possibly the most painful caused by cochineal production
Reducing wild cochineal harvesting is unlikely to have any significant effect on cochineal suffering
Accordingly, insect advocates interested in reducing cochineal suffering ought to focus on eliminating cochineal farming specifically, and not necessarily all cochineal harvesting
Organizations
None currently known