Captive dolphins in marine parks face significant welfare deficits from confinement, social disruption, and performance demands; sea sanctuary alternatives offer a more welfare-positive future.
Captive dolphin welfare mirrors the orca welfare debate in important respects: these are wide-ranging, cognitively sophisticated, socially complex animals whose needs cannot be adequately met in tank environments. Performance training, public interaction, and the acoustic stress of concrete pools compound the welfare deficits of spatial confinement. Sea sanctuaries — fenced ocean bays providing more naturalistic environments — are being developed as transitions for captive dolphins that cannot be returned to the wild. Supporting sea sanctuary development and opposing new captive breeding programs are the most impactful welfare actions available in this sector.