Wild dolphins face multiple anthropogenic threats that cause individual suffering and population decline across many species and habitats.
Wild dolphin welfare is shaped by the quality of the marine environment they inhabit and the human activities within it. Dolphins that must navigate through acoustic pollution, forage around fishing gear, and process chronic chemical contamination experience diminished welfare regardless of whether they appear healthy to casual observers. Entanglement causes slow drowning or injury that may result in death after days. Sonar exposure causes physical damage and behavioral disruption that can be catastrophic. Swim-with-dolphin tourism, even when managed with good intentions, imposes behavioral costs on resident populations that show measurable changes in rest, suckling, and foraging patterns in tourist areas. A welfare-centered approach to wild dolphin conservation reduces human activities that cause these harms.