River dolphins are among the most endangered cetaceans, facing threats from fishing bycatch, pollution, and habitat destruction in major river systems.
River dolphins represent one of the most urgent convergences of conservation and welfare concern in the natural world. As populations collapse, individual animals face increasing threats from gillnets that entangle and drown them, pollution that disrupts their echolocation-based navigation, and habitat loss that concentrates survivors in shrinking ranges. The welfare of individual river dolphins — drowning in gillnets, disoriented by pollution — is an acute concern that parallels the conservation crisis. Range state governments bear primary responsibility, but international pressure and consumer choices around fish products sourced from these river systems create leverage.