Beluga whales are held in aquariums across North America and Russia, where they face welfare challenges from confined space, artificial social groupings, and inability to perform natural echolocation-based deep-diving behaviour.
Beluga whales in aquarium pools cannot perform echolocation at meaningful ranges in artificial environments. Complex Arctic social structures including seasonal aggregations of hundreds of individuals cannot be replicated in captive groups. Stereotypic circling, abnormal social behaviour, and shortened lifespan document the welfare cost of captivity. Marine mammal captivity debates involve genuine welfare evidence and conservation messaging trade-offs.