River dolphins including the Amazon boto, Ganges dolphin, and Yangtze finless porpoise face multiple welfare threats from fishing gear entanglement, habitat degradation, and hunting.
River dolphin welfare encompasses both immediate suffering from entanglement and killing and the longer-term welfare implications of population fragmentation and habitat loss. Dolphins caught in gillnets experience prolonged drowning, a highly aversive death for air-breathing mammals. Habitat fragmentation isolates dolphin groups, reducing genetic diversity and potentially creating welfare problems through reproductive failure. Conservation action for river dolphins must address fishing practices, habitat connectivity, and the political will to protect freshwater ecosystems against competing economic pressures.