Dolphins and orcas kept in marine parks and aquariums experience severe welfare deficits from confinement in environments radically unsuited to their needs.
The welfare case against cetacean captivity is among the strongest in animal ethics. Orcas and dolphins are among the most cognitively complex, socially sophisticated, and geographically mobile animals on Earth. Confining them in tanks that represent a fraction of their natural range, separating them from stable family groups, and compelling performance disrupts every dimension of their natural lives. The result — stereotypic behaviors, premature death, and psychological abnormalities — represents incontrovertible welfare failure at a species level.