Beluga whales are held in aquariums worldwide with significant welfare concerns about the appropriateness of captivity for such cognitively complex, social cetaceans.
Beluga whales in captive environments are denied the acoustic complexity of the Arctic and subarctic seas they inhabit, receiving degraded sound environments that may impair their complex vocal communication. Social groups in captivity are artificially assembled without the natural family structure of wild belugas. Belugas deprived of the extensive foraging and exploration behaviours they perform in the wild show stereotypic swimming and other stress indicators. Calves separated from mothers for captive display programs experience profound social disruption. The cognitive and emotional sophistication of belugas amplifies the welfare consequences of captivity.