Captive dolphin welfare is one of the most contested areas in animal welfare. Understanding the scientific evidence and ethical arguments informs both advocacy and consumer choices.
Keeping dolphins in captivity raises profound welfare questions. Their cognitive complexity, emotional depth, and natural wide-ranging social behaviour are profoundly at odds with life in a pool, even a large and enriched one. Evidence of chronic stress in captive dolphins includes elevated cortisol, gastric ulcers, and shortened lifespan compared to wild counterparts. The traditional dolphinarium model — dolphins performing tricks for public audiences — is increasingly recognised as ethically unjustifiable given what we know about dolphin welfare and cognition. Some facilities have shifted to dolphin-free educational models. Consumer choices to avoid swim-with-dolphin and dolphin show programs withdraw financial support from the captive dolphin industry.