The welfare of bottlenose dolphins in captivity remains highly contested. Understanding the evidence for and against captive cetacean welfare helps assess the ethics of maintaining these animals in marine parks.
Captive dolphins cannot engage in the full range of natural behaviors including open-water ranging, complex social dynamics, and natural foraging. Even in the best-designed facilities, the cognitive demands of a dolphin's life cannot be met within tank boundaries. Research consistently finds stereotypic behaviors in captive cetaceans that are absent in well-studied wild populations. The welfare of captive-born dolphins - who cannot be released - requires the best possible management including social groupings, environmental complexity, and positive reinforcement training as the dominant interaction model. The ethical debate about whether any captivity is acceptable for cetaceans continues.