Wild dolphins face multiple threats from human activities including bycatch, boat strikes, pollution, and acoustic disturbance. Understanding these threats enables targeted welfare protection.
Wild dolphin welfare encompasses both acute suffering from bycatch and boat strikes and chronic stress from pollution, noise, and prey depletion. The intelligent, socially bonded nature of dolphins means that individual suffering extends to social group welfare through the trauma of witnessing or surviving the death of bonded associates. Monitoring of wild dolphin populations through photo-identification and behavioral assessment enables detection of declining welfare states at the population level that can inform targeted management interventions. Addressing the systemic threats of bycatch, noise pollution, and prey depletion requires coordinated policy rather than individual interventions.