Large sharks in public aquariums face welfare challenges due to spatial restrictions, social disruption, and the stress of capture and transport — raising questions about whether some species should be displayed at all.
The welfare case against displaying large sharks in aquariums rests on the fundamental mismatch between their biological requirements and what any tank can provide. Great white sharks demonstrate this starkly — every individual captured for display has died within months, often showing deteriorating behavior before death. Whale sharks in captivity show repetitive collision behaviors consistent with spatial frustration. The educational and conservation arguments for shark display must be weighed against the welfare cost of holding highly mobile predators in confined spaces.