Jane Goodall, Ph.D, DBE, Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
Koen Margodt, Ph.D, Co-Chair of the Global Ethics Committee of the Jane Goodall Institute
Marc Bekoff, Ph.D, Co-Chair of the Global Ethics Committee of the Jane Goodall Institute
Richard Quinn, DVM, DVSc, Diplomate ACVO. Director of the Jane Goodall Institute Canada/Global
How do they experience living in water that is artificially treated with chlorine? How does their echolocation system cope with their captive living conditions, surrounded by walls instead of the vastness of oceans? What is the impact of being surrounded by mechanical noise, loud music and the sound of large visitor crowds for these cetaceans?
Who isn’t amazed by the sight of dolphins moving in large pods
through the ocean, swimming in close formation, their backs
appearing rhythmically above the waves, while travelling at high
speeds? A dolphin jumping out of the water, while spinning and
turning, fills us with joy, but also suggests that the dolphin is
experiencing joy. We feel an immediate connection with these
sentient, large brained mammals. The huge dorsal fins of majestic
orcas swimming as a tight family pod through misty waters fill us
with a deep sense of awe.
Oceans are highly varied and rich ecosystems where cetaceans
flourish in many ways. Cetaceans may travel tens of miles daily and
frequently dive to depths greater than 450 meters.1 These
intelligent mammals have complex social and emotional lives – for
example, bottlenose dolphins live in fission-fusion groups, similar
to the social structure of chimpanzees. Cetaceans demonstrate
complex, collaborative hunting strategies and tool use. For example,
dolphins will create a mud-ring around fish in shallow water, so
that conspecifics can feed on the jumping fish. Some cover their
beaks with sponges as a form of protection during foraging on the
ocean floor. Cultural behaviour, including communication dialects,
is passed on from generation to generation. These large brained
mammals are amongst the most intelligent organisms living on our
planet.
Unfortunately, living conditions are starkly different for cetaceans
in captivity. Cetaceans kept in dolphinaria include mainly
bottlenose dolphins, but also orcas (or killer whales), belugas and
porpoises. The history of cetacean captivity is in so many ways a
tragic one. Their cruel capture in the wild is extremely disruptive
and traumatic, resulting in broken bonds between mothers, calves and
other pod members and unnecessary deaths. Besides reduced life
expectancy and limited breeding success, many problematic behaviours
have been observed, such as aggression, passivity, self-mutilation
and stereotypic behaviours. Captive cetacean behaviour is too often
indicative of stress, frustration and boredom within the concrete
walls of monotonous tanks. Some individuals have been kept in
solitary confinement in tiny pens for years. Some dolphins have
banged their heads against walls or crashed themselves into
underwater windows. Many captive orcas have severe dental problems
due to stress-related behaviour. They grind their teeth on the hard
tank walls, even to the point where their nerves are exposed.2
Cetaceans cannot escape social conflicts in captivity and facilities
are often too limited for a proper human intervention. Their sensory
experiences are so different from ours. How do they experience
living in water that is artificially treated with chlorine? How does
their echolocation system cope with their captive living conditions,
surrounded by walls instead of the vastness of oceans? What is the
impact of being surrounded by mechanical noise, loud music and the
sound of large visitor crowds for these cetaceans?
Concrete tanks cannot meet the biological requirements of these
intelligent, sensitive mammals who in the wild travel over large
distances in social groups.
Ever since television programs such as Flipper, dolphins and other
cetaceans have been tremendously popular with the general public and
made marine parks increasingly profitable. Cetaceans have been
trained to perform repetitive tricks for the sake of a dead fish.
Sometimes it is claimed that this shows cetacean intelligence – yet
this in no way demonstrates their true intelligence any more than
performing elephants in a circus educates the general public about
their real intelligence.
And there’s the human toll as well as shown in the documentary
Blackfish (2013). Orca shows have put the lives of trainers at
severe risk, resulting in many injuries and the tragic loss of human
lives. It is difficult to understand how the trainer’s safety could
be put at much risk – for what purpose? Sustaining a living
anachronism, a circus-like spectacle that is not befitting our
growing sensitivity for animal welfare?
From a species conservation perspective there is no need to take
dolphins or orcas into captivity to join endangered animals for
captive breeding in the ‘Zoo Ark’. The status of bottlenose dolphins
(Tursiops truncatu) is listed in the International Union for
Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) as being of Least Concern. Orcas or
killer whales (Orcinus orca) are listed as Data Deficient, but there
are still more than 50,000 orcas in the wild.3 Spaces in zoos and
aquaria are limited. If these want to be successful as conservation
arks, they should focus on species listed as endangered that are
truly in need of a breeding program. A conservation program with
positive chances for reintroduction, as was the case for the Arabian
oryx or California condor. Moreover, zoos and aquaria should focus
on species whose basic needs can be addressed, where they can
provide conditions that address the welfare of individual animals.
Clearly, cetaceans do not fit any of these criteria. The keeping of
cetaceans in captivity contradicts the concept of zoos as
conservation arks for endangered species.
We call for an immediate worldwide, permanent ban on capturing,
keeping and breeding cetaceans in captivity. In 2019 Canada passed
legislation (Bill S-203) that will end the keeping of cetaceans in
captivity.4 More recently, Bill S-241, also called the Jane Goodall
Act, was introduced in Canada, which aims to strengthen animal law.
If approved, this law may help relocating among others the lone orca
female Kiska to the world’s first whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia.5
We need to investigate how we can offer the best possible future for
those individuals already in captivity, such as life in a large
semi-wild, marine sanctuary, or a carefully monitored reintroduction
into the wild. In Korea, five bottlenose dolphins were successfully
released in the wild after several years in captivity. The dolphins
returned to their original pod and the three females Sampal, Chunsam
and Boksoon later gave birth to babies in their 24 October 2022
natural environment.6 Recently, the last Korean bottlenose dolphin
Bibong was released after having spent seventeen years in an
aquarium.7
For many years, Dr. Jane Goodall has expressed her deep concern
about keeping cetaceans in captivity.8 With all the scientific
knowledge that has now been accumulated the ending of cetacean
captivity is imperative and long overdue. These wonderful creatures
deserve nothing less than a natural life in the wild. We owe them
nothing less than their freedom.
Notes