Freshwater dolphin species including the Ganges river dolphin, Irrawaddy dolphin, and Chinese river dolphin face extinction from fishing bycatch, pollution, and habitat degradation with severe welfare implications.
Freshwater dolphins face a welfare crisis compounded by conservation emergency. Animals caught in fishing nets drown -- a prolonged death caused by asphyxiation in a fully conscious animal that is desperately trying to reach the surface. Pollution bioaccumulation causes chronic disease and reproductive failure. Acoustic disturbance from boat traffic impairs echolocation-dependent navigation and foraging, potentially causing chronic stress and nutritional deprivation. The welfare harms are inseparable from the conservation crisis: addressing them requires the same interventions. River dolphin welfare is a sentinel issue for the health of freshwater ecosystems that support hundreds of millions of humans.