The captivity of marine mammals — orca, bottlenose dolphins, belugas and others — has become one of the most publicly contested animal welfare debates of the modern era.
The welfare case against orca and cetacean captivity has been made more thoroughly than almost any other animal welfare issue. The combination of extreme range restriction, complex social needs, echolocation impaired by pool acoustics, and shortened lifespan in captivity creates a welfare failure that no enrichment programme can adequately address. The marine mammals in these facilities suffer demonstrably and measurably. The policy direction is now clearly toward phase-out in progressive jurisdictions; the debate has shifted from whether captivity causes harm to how quickly existing facilities should be transitioned.