Current evidence on the welfare of marine mammals in captivity, including cetaceans and pinnipeds, and the ethical debates surrounding their exhibition.
Marine mammal captivity welfare occupies different ethical territory depending on species and purpose. The scientific evidence against large cetacean captivity for entertainment is now compelling — behavioral indicators including stereotypy, aggression, stress responses, and shortened lifespan point to welfare needs that cannot be met in any captive facility. The arguments for educational value have been largely superseded by documentary film and virtual technologies that communicate marine mammal biology more accurately without the welfare cost of captivity. Pinniped welfare in accredited facilities is less categorically problematic, with managed care populations of rehabilitated pinnipeds that cannot be released providing genuine educational value. Rehabilitation programs with release as the goal represent ethically straightforward captivity in service of individual and population welfare.