Freshwater dolphin species face severe welfare threats from habitat degradation, bycatch, hunting and pollution in the river systems of Asia and South America.
Freshwater dolphins living in human-dominated river systems face welfare threats at every turn. Bycatch in nets causes drowning or injury. Boat propeller strikes cause lacerations and fatal trauma. Mercury from artisanal gold mining bioaccumulates to dangerous levels causing neurological damage. Habitat destruction from dams fragments populations and eliminates prey. The individual suffering involved in each of these deaths and injuries is substantial - dolphins are cognitively complex animals capable of significant pain experience. The Yangtze baiji's extinction is a sobering reminder that inaction in the face of these threats leads to irreversible loss.