Captive dolphins in marine parks and swim-with-dolphin programs continue to raise serious welfare concerns despite growing public awareness and legislative action in some countries.
Dolphins in captivity experience profound welfare impacts. Tank confinement prevents natural ranging behavior, social group complexity, and acoustic communication. Captive dolphins show stereotypic behaviors, skin lesions from abrasion on tank walls, and shorter lifespans than wild individuals. Swim-with-dolphin programs require constant human contact that stresses the animals. The capture process for wild-caught dolphins involves drive hunts, netting, and transport trauma that kills some animals and psychologically damages survivors. Many marine parks claim their animals are captive-born but the trade in wild-caught dolphins to supply this demand continues in several countries. Public education programs claim conservation value but evidence for this is limited.