The world was wider than we knew and deeper than we imagined… The unexpected discovery of dense animal communities 2.5 km deep on the Galápagos Rift in 1977 opened our eyes to hydrothermal vents, a place of spectacles beyond our wildest dreams back then. There was a legion of unforgettable species and unfathomable adaptations to discover, and an entire array of impressive chemosymbioses to add to our understanding of how animals functioned. Forty years later, we have now located over 400 active vent fields and more than 600 endemic species; but humans also realised that vents harbour rich sulfide deposits and have started eyeing them as targets for deep-sea mining. How do we ensure these fantastic vent beasties are protected from such anthropogenic activities? I refer you to the Red List of Threatened Species, as laid out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for assessing the extinction risks of animals. Starting in 2019, our Vent Red List project has assessed over 200 species and are expending to complete assessment for all known vent endemics. Those such as the giant tapersnout snail (Gigantopelta chessoia) are of Least Concern and shouldn't be in immediate danger as their range includes major marine protected areas. Some care should be taken for Near Threatened species like the giant calypto clam (Turneroconcha magnifica), but as long as appropriate management plans are in place they should survive. Extreme caution should be exercised for the Endangered or Critically Endangered species like the ironclad scaly-foot snail (Chrysomallon squamiferum), in imminent danger from upcoming mining activities in the near future. The IUCN Red List is widely used to inform global policy, and here I will outline how we have implemented this tool for protecting vent animals, as well as explore our future prospects.