Dolphinaria FAQs

In the wild, whales and dolphins live in a variety of habitats, including estuaries, coastal environments and deep water habitats from the tropics to the poles.

The home range of even the smallest dolphin is almost 50 miles, whilst orcas may travel up to 60 miles a day and dive as deep as 400 metres. These highly intelligent, emotional and socially complex animals travel across oceans in family and wider groups, communicating by sonar over long distances.

The contrast with captive conditions, when they are typically forced to live in sterile, barren tanks, pools or pens typically far less than 1% of the space they would experience in the wild, with animals they would never have met in the wild, and in an environment where their vocalisations and communications bounce back off the walls and must end up seeming like an endless cacophony of noise, couldn’t be more stark.

Whilst it is true that keeping whales and dolphins behind glass allows people to see them, Born Free maintains that this is not an appropriate or ethical way for people to see or learn about these animals, as it is severely detrimental to animal welfare.

There are opportunities the world over to see whales and dolphins in the wild, including around the UK coast. Also, as documentaries and virtual reality technologies continue to develop, people can be offered ever more entertaining, immersive and educational experiences without the need to keep wild animals in captivity.

Born Free acknowledges the threats faced by whales and dolphins in the wild but rejects this as a reason to keep these animals in captivity.

Dolphins in particular are often used in shows, to perform tricks and stunts, and even used as photo props or for interaction sessions with members of the public. The animals involved are given no choice in whether they participate in these unnatural, exploitative and extremely stressful activities.

Born Free is deeply saddened to see that whales and dolphins are still used in this way and that many people remain desensitised to the suffering inflicted upon whales and dolphins when kept in captivity.

Dolphins are naturally playful, curious and exuberant, but ​being trained and ​having to perform a repertoire of tricks on cue, day after day, held in artificial pools, is no fun for the animals involved.

Captive dolphins are normally trained to perform ‘circus-style’ tricks, whereby the animals receive a reward for performing the desired task, usually food. Some ex-dolphin trainers have reported that food is withheld ​as a punishment ​during training if the behaviours are not carried out correctly.

Dolphins, orcas and beluga whales are still taken from the wild to supply the captivity industry, particularly from the coasts of Japan and Russia. Many of the wild-caught individuals are sold to parks in China, where there are sadly many captive dolphin facilities in operation, and others in the planning stages.

Born Free does not recommend that people swim with dolphins, either in the wild or in captive facilities.

For many people it is a lifelong dream to swim with dolphins, yet Born Free is convinced that few people would partake in the practice if they knew that such interactions could be highly stressful and damaging for the animals, particularly those held in captivity, housed in small, unnatural pools or pens.

Captive dolphins are often used in swim-with programmes throughout the day. This enforced daily contact can result in long-term health and behavioural problems, and even shortened lives. They are trained to accept close-contact with a succession of strangers which can be stressful for them.

Dolphins are intelligent and sensitive; they have evolved to live in diverse environments in complex societies and have territories that can be measured in miles. The captive environment can never adequately provide for their welfare needs.

Swimming with dolphins in the wild may seem as if we are joining them in their world, on their terms, but it can be harassing and stressful to them. It can disturb them in their natural homes, in places they wish to rest, rear their young, or just hang out. Some tour operators exploit wild dolphins to extremes, ​chasing them with high-speed boats and ​depositing numerous tourists in the water with them, many times throughout the day.

There are also health and safety risks involved with swimming with dolphins, both to humans and the animals involved.

Dolphins have delicate eyes and skin, which are at risk from human fingernails, jewellery, make-up and suntan lotion. There are numerous accounts of people suffering bites, bruises, abrasions and even broken bones during close-contact with captive cetaceans. These animals can also harbour numerous bacterial and fungal diseases, some of which may be transmissible to humans.

DOLPHIN INTERACTION

Dolphin Assisted Therapy, or DAT, is a highly controversial practice that usually involves swimming or other forms of close contact with dolphins. It is promoted as a cure or respite for children and adults with physical or psychological problems. However, there is no scientific evidence to show that it has long-term beneficial effects.

We believe the dolphins pay a high price for being used in this way. They may be captive-bred or they may have experienced the trauma of capture from the wild. In either case they endure impoverished lives, confined to tanks or sea pens.

They are trained to accept close-contact with a succession of strangers which can be stressful for them.

Dolphins are intelligent and sensitive; they have evolved to live in complex environments and societies and typically move across large areas. They should not be subjected to these so-called therapies especially as research suggests that structured contact with animals who are comfortable around people, such as domesticated dogs and cats, can be equally helpful – and far more accessible and cost-effective for the families concerned.

It is unlikely that all dolphinaria are going to be closed down overnight so, in the short term, Born Free is calling for an end to capturing dolphins from the wild, and for an end to captive-breeding.

Campaigners and the dolphinaria industry could then work towards creating high quality marine sanctuaries for the remaining captive individuals who cannot be released to the wild.

Yes. Animals within a sea sanctuary would live in a penned-off part of a coastal bay and would still be monitored and under human care. However, human interaction would be minimised with animals able to make their own choices.

They would be able to swim in a more natural environment with far more space and depth, and with the enrichments that the ocean has to offer. A genuine sanctuary will not breed its animals or use them in shows, but rather would focus on rescuing as many individuals as possible from life in a tank and offer them a more suitable home, if they cannot be released into the wild.

Equipping captive-born whales or dolphins for life in the wild is extremely difficult.

Such animals will not have the skills, or memory of the skills, needed to survive in the wild. They would know only how to beg for dead fish, and may not have the stamina, fitness or experience to swim at speed, or at depth, to catch wild prey.  They may also lack the social skills to integrate successfully with their wild counterparts.

There have however been successful releases of previously wild-caught individuals from captivity back to the wild. This is also an extremely complex process and is not possible for every individual. Nevertheless, Born Free successfully rehabilitated and returned to the wild two bottlenose dolphins in 2012.