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The Case Against Keeping Whales & Dolphins Captive

Posted March 14, 2019 in News by Michael Mountain

While the tide is turning in the West for captive marine mammals, live capture operations, traveling dolphin shows, polluted sea pens and needless deaths of animals characterize the captivity industry around the world. Marine entertainment shows are multiplying in Asia, where in China alone the number of these facilities has nearly doubled in the past three years.

In their updated report “The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity,” Naomi Rose of the Animal Welfare Institute and Chris Parsons of Glasgow University lay out in plain English what’s wrong with keeping whales and dolphins and all other marine mammals in captivity.

It’s an invaluable resource for any of us wanting a clear explanation, whether for ourselves or for sharing with others.

In 12 brief chapters, full of pictures and pull-outs, they offer the latest scientific understanding of:

  • What’s wrong with the claims made by the marine entertainment industry that their shows are educational;
  • What’s wrong with their claims that keeping marine mammals in captivity is valuable for conservation and research;
  • How, contrary to popular belief, marine entertainment parks, especially in the East, are still capturing marine mammals in the wild;
  • The fact that the size of a typical captive tank or enclosure is generally less than one ten-thousandth of 1% of the range of a marine mammal’s natural habitat;
  • The enormous growth of marine entertainment parks in Asia. China has at least 76 dolphinariums and marine parks, and at least 25 more planned over the next few years.
  • Which health problems are unique to marine mammals in captivity – like damage to their teeth by chewing or grinding them on concrete tank walls and floors and biting down on metal gates;
  • How the stress of confinement can lead the animals to increasingly frequent, intense levels of aggression;
  • Why bottlenose dolphins never become accustomed to transport, whether it is an initial capture or being shuffled from one facility to another, and why the stress they experience can be fatal;
  • What’s wrong with swimming with dolphins, feeding programs, and dolphin-assisted-“therapy”;
  • How disease may be transmitted when humans and marine mammals interact;
  • And how the extraordinary level of complex cognition of these animals leads to yet more suffering in captivity.

Naomi Rose PhD is Marine Mammal Scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute and a board member of the Whale Sanctuary Project. Zoologist Chris Parsons PhD is a research affiliate of the University of Glasgow and has been studying and teaching the biology and conservation of whales and dolphins for over two decades.

You can download their report here.

8 Comments

  • Marisa says:
    March 14, 2021 at 8:14 PM

    To those working to save the whales🐳🐋🐬 and all mammals in activity God Bless You all for your valiant efforts for speaking for those poor animals that cannot speak for themselves.
    No animals should be kept in captivity. Thank God for the whale sanctuary and so so proud of Canad for being the first!!! You rock Port Hilford! To the residents of Port Hilford the whales thank you!!!

    Reply
  • malka bernard says:
    March 16, 2019 at 3:21 AM

    We need all organisations to join to together and get an international ban on holding dolphins and whales in captivity once and for all!

    Reply
    • Brenda Lee says:
      September 17, 2021 at 8:08 AM

      Totally agree with you Marisa. Hopefully, the so called Entertainment Parks will be banned and no longer exist. The beautiful Whales, Dolphins, Seals and plenty more Animals, are being stolen from their OCEAN homes. To live in pure Captivity Hell. Those who where born in “Captivity” have no real Ocean Skills, and would most likely Die.
      Yes thank GOD for the Sanctuary

      Reply
  • Janis Millu says:
    March 14, 2019 at 11:43 PM

    #EmptyTheTanks #SayNoToCaptivity

    Reply
    • Margaret roberts says:
      February 19, 2020 at 3:42 PM

      It is wrong to keep dolphins and whales captive.release them so they can live longer and stay healthy.show them mercy and love.

      Reply
    • Stephen says:
      February 15, 2021 at 1:29 AM

      I wholeheartedly agree. The capture and confinement of these beautiful creatures must be stopped

      Reply
  • Janis Millu says:
    March 14, 2019 at 11:41 PM

    They should be wild and free. Held in a natural state for their full life potential and as a benefit to biodiversity.

    Reply
    • Wynter Lockwood says:
      May 10, 2020 at 5:51 AM

      Release all orcas, whales and dolphins back into the wild. The world will return to a better state once the chain of animals has been returned.

      Reply

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