Question: Do you agree with dolphins being kept in sealife aquariums?

Valeria Senigaglia answered on 11 Jun 2012:

No. I disagree.
I think animals are born free and they should remain wild. Would you like to be kept into a cage so that people can look at you all the time?
Moreover dolphins are complex animals that live in groups and need very big space. Dolphins also get very bored because in the wild they would spend their time looking for food while in captivity everything is provided so they literally have nothing to do. They are also forced to live with other individuals that they might not like, dolphins show strong preferences towards certain individuals and sometimes trainers have to keep animals separated if they don’t like each others.
Many persons say that dolphins in captivity are a good thing because they raise awareness. They say that if people see dolphins than they will be more willing to help to conserve them in the wild. It might be true but at the same time I never saw dolphins at an aquarium when I was young, the only dolphins I saw was on TV and I still fell in love with them and decided to study and protect them.
My personal opinion is that the cons are more than the pros and dolphins should be left in the wild but is quite a complicated issue you raised.