Are there problems with keeping dolphins and whales in captivity?

Answer 1

Yes, there are. Cetacean display facilities exploit dolphins and whales and the unsuspecting public which loves them. The demand to see and interact with these animals has led to the cruel confinement and deaths of many.

Dolphins and whales are highly intelligent animals with specialized needs. Many dolphins are still hunted and captured from the wild in certain parts of the world (i.e. Japan and the Solomon Islands) to supply the captive dolphin industry. During capture dolphins suffer shock and stress: they are torn away from their families and removed from their lively natural surroundings. In the wild they travel many miles a day in search of food and mates while in captivity they are fed dead fish and housed in captive, sterile tanks. They are forced to perform tricks for the public and in some facilities, interact with the public which is completely unnatural for these wild animals. There are instances of dolphins behaving aggressively towards humans in these situations... In Taiji, Japan, dolphins and porpoises are driven into a shallow cove, where most are slaughtered and some are picked for lives in captivity. The money that hunters get from the captive dolphin industry essentially funds future hunts and keeps the process going. The hunts are so cruel that the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the U.S. Association of Zoos and Aquariums have condemned them however many facilities still source from them.