Bottlenose dolphins in captivity show significantly compromised welfare compared to wild counterparts, raising serious questions about their continued exhibition.
Captive dolphins cannot express the ranging, social, and foraging behaviours that characterise their wild counterparts. Social groups in captivity are typically smaller and more unstable than wild pods. Skin and dental problems from pool surfaces are widespread. The physical and cognitive needs of highly intelligent, wide-ranging marine mammals are fundamentally incompatible with any captive environment, making welfare compromise structural rather than incidental to captive dolphin keeping.