Public attention on captive orcas has shifted some scrutiny to other captive cetacean species — bottlenose dolphins, beluga whales, and false killer whales — whose welfare concerns are equally significant.
The welfare problems of captive cetaceans extend well beyond orcas to encompass the full diversity of dolphins and smaller whales held in marine parks worldwide. Bottlenose dolphins in swim-with programs endure hours of human interaction without adequate control over their exposure. Belugas in concrete pools swim in circles for lack of the cognitive and sensory complexity of their wild environment. These are animals whose echolocation evolved to map ocean-scale environments — captive conditions deny them the sensory world their biology requires. The ethical trajectory is clear: cetacean captivity for public entertainment cannot be reconciled with genuine welfare.