Orcas are highly intelligent social hunters whose complex welfare needs are fundamentally incompatible with captive display, while wild populations face pollution and prey decline.
Captive orcas show stereotypic behaviour, aggression, and shortened lifespan compared to wild counterparts. UK resident orcas are among the most pollutant-contaminated marine mammals ever tested, causing reproductive failure. Salmon prey decline in the Pacific threatens the welfare of food-stressed killer whale populations.