Marine Mammal Captivity, an Evolving Issue

Abstract

People have held marine mammalsMarine mammals captive for public displayPublic display for centuries, and the history of peoples’ engagement with free-ranging marine mammals has an even longer history. Currently, most concern is expressed over keeping cetaceansCetacea/cetaceans captive, rather than other marine mammals, so cetaceans are the focus of this chapter. Conservation and animal welfareAnimal welfare arguments against catching free-ranging cetaceans have gained traction in many countries in recent decades. Few nations now have live-captureLive capture industries. The reasons for and against maintaining captive cetaceans continue to be debated. While some countries have banned keeping cetaceans captive for entertainmentEntertainment, the industry is growing in others, particularly China. As standards for captive husbandry in some of these new operations are poor, survivalSurvival and welfareWelfare there remain problematic. In some other nations, conditions for captive cetaceans have improved markedly, and captive dolphins live at least as long as their free-ranging conspecifics. The recent extinctionExtinction of the baijiBaiji and dire conservationConservation situation of other small odontocetes have led to a call for new thinking on the possible role of ex situ conservationEx situ conservation measures. For this, the veterinary and husbandry skills developed for captive cetaceans can play a role in integrated conservationConservation programs. There is a continuum of interactionsInteraction with cetaceansCetacea/cetaceans, from remote observation of free-ranging animals, through engagement with dolphins that seek human interaction, semi-natural reservesSemi-natural reserves used in the conservationConservation programs, to cetaceans kept in indoor pools far from the ocean. The development of oceanic sanctuariesSanctuary/ies to house cetaceans formerly held in entertainmentEntertainment facilities adds to this continuum, and allows more options for integrated conservationConservation. As humanity’s understanding of the complexity of the lives of cetaceans has improved, our ethicalEthical stance on some aspects of maintaining them in captivityCaptivity has shifted. At the same time, our need to engage the public with conservationConservation messaging, and to manage the welfareWelfare of free-ranging cetaceansCetacea/cetaceans injured by human actions, has also grown.