Cetaceans and pinnipeds in captivity face unique welfare challenges that have driven growing public and regulatory opposition to marine mammal captivity.
The welfare case against cetacean captivity is among the strongest in animal welfare science. Highly intelligent, wide-ranging animals that travel up to 150 km daily in the wild are confined to pools that represent a fraction of a percent of their natural range. The documented physical deterioration, psychological abnormalities, and shortened lifespans of captive cetaceans represent severe welfare harms with no compelling conservation or educational justification that could not be achieved through other means.