Beluga whales inhabit Arctic and subarctic waters and face mounting welfare threats from climate change, industrial noise, and contaminant accumulation.
Beluga welfare is threatened by overlapping pressures that each individually and cumulatively cause harm. Noise pollution masks their vocalizations used for social bonding, mother-calf communication, and echolocation, causing isolation and navigation errors. Contaminant loads cause chronic immune dysfunction and reproductive failure -- female belugas carrying high toxin burdens produce fewer calves. Sea ice loss removes refuge habitat from killer whale predation, increasing predation stress and mortality. Shipping strike risk increases as Arctic routes expand. Protecting beluga welfare requires addressing these systemic threats through shipping regulation, pollution reduction, and climate action.