The Case against Marine Mammals in Captivity - The Humane ...

OverviewIn the debate over marine mammals in captivity, thepublic display industry maintains that marine mammalexhibits serve a valuable conservation function, peoplelearn important information from seeing live animals, andcaptive marine mammals live a good life. However, animalprotection groups and a growing number of scientistscounter that the lives of captive marine mammals areimpoverished, people do not receive an accurate pictureof a species from captive representatives, and the trade inlive marine mammals negatively impacts populations andhabitats. The more we learn of marine mammals, the moreevidence there is that the latter views are correct.The public display industry has asserted for many years that thedisplay of marine mammals serves a necessary educational purpose,for which the animals’ welfare need not be compromised.Mostly, this assertion has gone unchallenged. But as news gets outabout traumatic captures, barren concrete tanks, high mortalityrates, and aberrant—even dangerous—animal behavior, peopleare changing the way they “see” animals in captivity.of the natural environment. The truth is that marine mammalshave evolved physically and behaviorally to survive these rigors.For example, nearly every kind of marine mammal, from sea lionto dolphin, travels large distances daily in a search for food. Incaptivity, natural feeding and foraging patterns are completelylost. Stress-related conditions such as ulcers, stereotypical behaviorsincluding pacing and self-mutilation, and abnormal aggressionwithin groups frequently develop in predators denied theopportunity to hunt. Other natural behaviors, such as those associatedwith dominance, mating, and maternal care, are altered incaptivity, which can have a substantial impact on the animals.Wild-caught marine mammals gradually experience the atrophyof many of their natural behaviors and are cut off from the conditionsthat allow the expression of cultural traits such as specializedvocalizations and unique foraging techniques. Viewing captiveanimals gives the public a false picture of the animals’ naturallives. Worse yet, it desensitizes people to captivity’s inherentcruelties—for so many captive marine mammals, the world isa tiny enclosure, and life is devoid of naturalness.Some facilities promote themselves as conservation enterprises;however, few such facilities are involved in substantial conservationefforts. Rather than enhancing wild populations, facilities engagedin captive breeding tend merely to create a surplus of animals whomay never be released into the wild and are therefore only usedto propagate the industry.Contrary to popular perception, captures of wild marine mammalsare not a thing of the past. Live captures, particularly of dolphins,continue around the world in regions where very little is knownabout the status of populations. For smaller stocks, live captureoperations are a significant conservation concern. Even for thosestocks not currently under threat, the lack of scientific assessmentor regard for welfare makes the proliferation of these operationsan issue of global concern.The public display industry maintains that it enhances the lives ofmarine mammals in captivity by protecting them from the rigorsChildren learn to view dolphins as dependent on humans—rather than as competent and independent—when their onlyexposure to these animals is in captivity. Photo:©iStockphoto.com/Zak Brown