Dolphins in marine parks and aquaria face chronic welfare challenges from confinement, social disruption, and performance demands. Understanding the evidence helps advocates engage with this high-profile issue.
Captive dolphin welfare is undermined by fundamental incompatibilities between the dolphin way of life and what captivity can provide. Wild dolphins are wide-ranging, socially complex animals whose welfare depends on the ability to choose companions, territory, and activity. Captive pools provide a tiny fraction of the movement opportunity, social choice, and environmental complexity of wild life. Performance training reduces stereotypic behaviours but does not address the fundamental welfare deficit of confinement. The public and regulatory tide is turning against cetacean captivity for entertainment, with a growing number of countries implementing restrictions.