Beluga whales are held in marine parks and aquaria globally, with a growing body of evidence that captivity causes significant and irreversible welfare harm to this highly social, wide-ranging cetacean.
Beluga whale welfare in captivity is severely compromised by the fundamental mismatch between the species natural ecology and any feasible captive environment. Tanks that seem large to human observers are tiny fractions of natural ranging distances. The complex social vocalisation repertoire of wild belugas is reduced and distorted in captive groups. Stereotypic behaviours including circular swimming and jaw-popping indicate chronic psychological welfare compromise. The growing scientific and public consensus that cetacean captivity causes irreversible welfare harm has driven legislative change in multiple jurisdictions. Sea sanctuaries providing large, naturalistic marine environments represent the most welfare-positive option for cetaceans that cannot be released to the wild.