Keeping dolphins in marine theme parks causes well-documented welfare harm. The global trend toward phase-out reflects growing scientific and public consensus.
Marine theme park dolphins experience welfare deprivation that is structural and irreducible. Tank environments cannot provide the space, complexity, or social freedom of ocean environments. Performing unnatural behaviors for food reinforcement is ethically questionable even when positive reinforcement training is used. The cognitive sophistication of dolphins — their communication systems, social bonds, and environmental awareness — makes the contrast with tank confinement especially acute. Accreditation bodies are increasingly restricting breeding and public entertainment at cetacean facilities.