Beluga whales are highly social, vocal and cognitively complex Arctic cetaceans whose welfare is threatened by industrial noise, climate-driven habitat change, and the live capture trade that supplies marine parks and aquariums worldwide.
Wild belugas face chronic acoustic pollution from shipping traffic that interferes with the echolocation and communication fundamental to their social lives and foraging. Prey depletion forces longer and deeper dives, increasing energetic expenditure. Captive belugas are confined to pools that represent a fraction of their natural ranging area, deprived of the complex social and acoustic environment of wild pods, and subjected to repetitive performance and interaction routines. Stress-related health problems including stomach ulcers are common in captive belugas. The live capture process involves chaotic pursuits, net entanglement and forced separation from family groups — an acutely traumatic experience for a highly social species.