What happens to the dolphins at SeaWorld?

Dolphins at SeaWorld are confined to cramped tanks and see very little each day other than the same concrete walls. Keeping them in tanks is like keeping humans in bathtubs. They're forced into contact with the public and made to perform unnatural tricks.



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Confinement to tiny tanks can cause dolphins to become stressed, neurotic, and aggressive. This endangers not only other dolphins but also humans—including children—who are allowed to interact with them. At SeaWorld, children are put at risk every day when their parents pay for them to be able to touch the dolphins.

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The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and Humane Society of the US issued a report on the topic as early as 2003, pointing out that feeding throughout the day by members of the public led to both obese and underweight dolphins, because some animals would become more aggressive than others.

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SeaWorld often keeps dolphins, whales, and other animals trapped with incompatible tankmates. The tension leads to fights and even fatal injuries. Staff members drug some animals to try to relieve their endless frustration.

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Killer whales at SeaWorld help killer whales in the wild. In 2016, SeaWorld announced that we were ending our killer whale breeding program and that the orcas in our care are the last generation at our park.

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We secured an historic win against SeaWorld earlier this year when it finally agreed to end its harmful captive breeding program for killer whales. But not only does SeaWorld have no plans to set its dolphins free, it continues to breed them in captivity.

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SeaWorld trainers will no longer ride dolphins at theme parks.

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— Captive bottlenose dolphins had an average life expectancy of almost 24 years, with a high estimate of 26 years and a low estimate of 22 years. Those at SeaWorld had an average life expectancy of almost 45 years.

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The science makes one fact undeniably clear: wild dolphins of some species are noted for seeking out social encounters with humans. The phenomenon of lone sociable dolphins – for whom human contact appears to substitute for the company of their own kind – is documented extensively in the scientific literature.

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Scrutiny of SeaWorld reached a crescendo following the release of the 2013 documentary “Blackfish.” The documentary focused on the life of Tilikum, a 12,000-pound orca that killed trainer Dawn Brancheau when he dragged her into a pool at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010.

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Once captured, sea animals live a life in captivity. Thankfully, in 2016 SeaWorld announced the end of their captive breeding program for orcas; however, the whales currently living in the park will remain there, as reported by The Los Angeles Times.

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Killer whales at SeaWorld help killer whales in the wild In 2016, SeaWorld announced that we were ending our killer whale breeding program and that the orcas in our care are the last generation at our park.

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Tilikum was sold to the United States' SeaWorld theme park chain for performance shows and breeding. The whale's semen was collected and used for artificial insemination to breed a number of captive orcas for SeaWorld's shows and also for its sister park, Loro Parque in Spain.

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