River dolphins are among the most endangered cetaceans, facing welfare threats from entanglement in fishing gear, mercury pollution, and destruction of the river systems they depend on.
River dolphins face welfare threats that combine acute suffering (bycatch entanglement, deliberate killing for bait) with chronic sublethal harm (mercury poisoning, prey depletion). Mercury accumulation from artisanal gold mining causes neurological damage and reproductive failure. The functional extinction of the baiji represents the ultimate welfare and conservation failure — an entire species eliminated within a century of industrialization. Protecting river dolphin welfare requires addressing the full suite of threats: fishing gear modifications, gold mining regulation, dam construction moratoriums, and enforcement against deliberate killing.