The worldwide captivity industry threatens wild whale and dolphin populations and inflicts cruelty and suffering on thousands of individual animals.
Confined in an unnatural environment, these wide-ranging, social animals are forced to live a life of severe deprivation, suffering lower life-expectancy and higher infant mortality than in the wild.
WDCS is working for a world where whales and dolphins are no longer subjected to this cruelty. We campaign for tougher regulations to protect whales and dolphins from capture and trade and raise awareness of the impacts of captivity around the world. Below you'll find some more information on the issues surrounding captivity.
Introduction to captivity
Kids introduction to captivity
Questions and Answers about captivity
Orcas in captivity statistics (March 2011).
Latest list of orcas in captivity (March 2011).
Four former SeaWorld trainers give an insight into what life is really like for an orca in captivity. You can read the full article in the summer edition of our magazine, Whale & Dolphin.
A reported 289 small whales, dolphins and porpoises are held in captivity in 15 of the 27 Member States of the European Union.
Help us tip the balance in favour of the dolphins and make the majority of European Member States a dolphinarium-free zone.
in June 2010, a young female orca was found alone off the coast of the Netherlands. She was brought into the country’s dolphinarium at Harderwijk for care and attention.
Since then WDCS together with other organisations has worked hard to give her the chance of returning to her natural environment but in November 2011 a Dutch court ruled that she was to be transferred to a marine park in Tenerife.
September saw the start of another drive hunt season in Taiji, Japan. Large groups of small whales and dolphins are herded into a bay where they are either killed or destined for a life in marine parks. Support our campaign to end this cruelty.
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