River dolphins are among the most critically endangered cetaceans globally, facing welfare threats from entanglement, river degradation, and direct killing that have pushed several species to the edge of extinction.
River dolphin welfare is inseparable from their conservation crisis. Individual animals dying in gill net entanglement suffer acutely before drowning. Habitat degradation from dam construction, pollution, and boat traffic causes chronic stress and nutritional compromise in surviving populations. For species reduced to tens or hundreds of individuals, each individual welfare event is also a conservation event of enormous significance. The extraordinary cognitive and social complexity of dolphins makes their suffering morally weighty. The extinction of the Baiji demonstrates that conservation failure is possible even for charismatic, well-studied species. Preventing further river dolphin extinctions requires emergency interventions including fishing gear modification, protected river zones, and habitat restoration alongside robust anti-poaching enforcement.