Orcas held in marine parks face extraordinary welfare challenges rooted in the vast mismatch between their natural lives and captive conditions.
Orcas are among the most cognitively and socially sophisticated animals on Earth. Their natural lives involve deep family bonds maintained over decades, complex hunting strategies, and vast oceanic ranges. Captivity severs all of this. Confined to tanks a fraction of their natural range, orcas show profound stress indicators including aggression, stereotypic behavior, and early mortality. The science now strongly supports ending orca captivity and transitioning existing animals to sea pen sanctuaries.