Editing Dolphin (section)

====Controversy====
{{See also|Captive orca}}
[[File:2009-Seaworld-Shamu.jpg|thumb|[[Shamu]] in 2009, with a collapsed dorsal fin.]]

There is debate over the welfare of cetaceans in captivity, and often welfare can vary greatly dependent on the levels of care being provided at a particular facility. In the United States, facilities are regularly inspected by federal agencies to ensure that a high standard of welfare is maintained.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}} Additionally, facilities can apply to become accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which (for accreditation) requires "the highest standards of animal care and welfare in the world" to be achieved. Facilities such as SeaWorld and the Georgia Aquarium are accredited by the AZA. Organizations such as [[World Animal Protection]] and the [[Whale and Dolphin Conservation]] campaign against the practice of keeping them in captivity. In captivity, they often develop pathologies, such as the [[dorsal fin]] collapse seen in 60–90% of male orca. Captives have vastly reduced life expectancies, on average only living into their 20s, although there are examples of orcas living longer, including several over 30 years old, and two captive orcas, Corky II and Lolita, are in their mid-40s. In the wild, females who survive infancy live 46 years on average, and up to 70–80 years in rare cases. Wild males who survive infancy live 31 years on average, and up to 50–60 years.{{Unreliable sources|date=March 2024}}<ref>{{cite web|author=Rose, N. A.|year=2011|url=http://www.hsi.org/assets/pdfs/orca_white_paper.pdf|title=Killer Controversy: Why Orcas Should No Longer Be Kept in Captivity|publisher=Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States|access-date=December 21, 2014}}</ref> Captivity usually bears little resemblance to wild habitat, and captive whales' social groups are foreign to those found in the wild. Critics claim captive life is stressful due to these factors and the requirement to perform circus tricks that are not part of wild orca behavior. Wild orcas may travel up to {{convert|160|km|mi|-1}} in a day, and critics say the animals are too big and intelligent to be suitable for captivity.<ref name=cbs2010>{{cite news|url= https://www.cbsnews.com/news/whale-attack-renews-captive-animal-debate/|title=Whale Attack Renews Captive Animal Debate|work=CBS News|date=March 1, 2010|access-date=September 6, 2015}}</ref> Captives occasionally act aggressively towards themselves, their tankmates, or humans, which critics say is a result of [[stress (medicine)|stress]].<ref name=armstrong>{{cite book|last1=Armstrong|first1=Susan J.|last2=Botzler|first2=Richard G.|title=The Animal Ethics Reader|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=tBuHDQAAQBAJ}}|date=November 18, 2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-42196-2}}</ref>

Although dolphins generally interact well with humans, some attacks have occurred, most of them resulting in small injuries.<ref name="fishingnj.org">{{cite web|author=William Broad |url=http://www.fishingnj.org/artdolphagress.htm |title=An article on the aggressive nature of dolphins |publisher=Fishingnj.org |date=July 6, 1999 |access-date=July 25, 2011}}</ref> [[Orca]]s, the largest species of dolphin, have been involved in fatal [[Orca attacks on humans|attacks on humans]] in captivity. The record-holder of documented orca fatal attacks is a male named [[Tilikum (orca)|Tilikum]],<ref>{{cite book|chapter=The Killer in the Pool|first=Tim|last=Zimmerman|title=The Best American Sampler 2011|page=336|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/07/us/corpse-is-found-on-whale.html|title=Corpse Is Found on Whale|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 7, 1999|access-date=September 11, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/24/killer.whale.trainer.death/index.html|title=SeaWorld trainer killed by killer whale|publisher=CNN|date=February 25, 2010|access-date=March 11, 2010}}</ref> who lived at [[SeaWorld]] from 1992 until his death in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/01/tilikum-seaworld-orca-killer-whale-dies/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802092644/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/01/tilikum-seaworld-orca-killer-whale-dies/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 2, 2019|first= Brian|last=Howard|date=January 6, 2017|title=Why Tilikum, SeaWorld's Killer Orca, Was Infamous|website=National Geographic|access-date=September 20, 2019}}</ref> Tilikum has played a role in the death of three people in three different incidents (1991, 1999 and 2010).<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/25/killer-whale-tilikum-drowned-trainer-hair | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Ed | last=Pilkington | title=Killer whale Tilikum to be spared after drowning trainer by ponytail | date=February 25, 2010}}</ref> Tilikum's behaviour sparked the production of the documentary ''[[Blackfish (film)|Blackfish]]'', which focuses on the consequences of keeping orcas in captivity. There are documented incidents in the wild, too, but none of them fatal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/081905/sta_20050819039.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411215249/http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/081905/sta_20050819039.shtml|archive-date=April 11, 2010|title=Killer whale bumps but doesn't bite boy |publisher=Juneau Empire – Alaska's Capital City Online Newspaper |date=August 19, 2005 |access-date=July 25, 2011}}</ref>

Fatal attacks from other species are less common, but there is a registered occurrence off the coast of [[Brazil]] in 1994, when a man died after being attacked by a [[bottlenose dolphin]] named [[Tião (dolphin)|Tião]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Wong |first=David |url=http://www.cracked.com/article_15853_the-6-cutest-animals-that-can-still-destroy-you.html |title=The 6 Cutest Animals That Can Still Destroy You |date=February 7, 2008 |publisher=Cracked.com |access-date=July 25, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf101/sf101b07.htm |title=Male Dolphin Kills Man |publisher=Science-frontiers.com |date= Sep–Oct 1995|access-date=July 25, 2011}}</ref> [[Tião (dolphin)|Tião]] had suffered harassment by human visitors, including attempts to stick ice cream sticks down his [[blowhole (anatomy)|blowhole]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/south/series1/lone-dolphins.shtml |title=LONE DOLPHINS – FRIEND OR FOE? |publisher=BBC |date=September 9, 2002 |access-date=February 5, 2012}}</ref> Non-fatal incidents occur more frequently, both in the wild and in captivity.

While dolphin attacks occur far less frequently than attacks by other sea animals, such as [[shark attack|sharks]], some scientists are worried about the careless programs of human-dolphin interaction. Dr. Andrew J. Read, a biologist at the Duke University Marine Laboratory who studies dolphin attacks, points out that dolphins are large and wild predators, so people should be more careful when they interact with them.<ref name="fishingnj.org"/>

Several scientists who have researched dolphin behaviour have proposed that dolphins' unusually high intelligence in comparison to other animals means that dolphins should be seen as [[non-human person]]s who should have their own specific rights and that it is [[morality|morally]] unacceptable to keep them captive for entertainment purposes or to kill them either intentionally for consumption or unintentionally as by-catch.<ref name="White2009">{{cite book|last=White|first=Thomas I.|title=In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=tGunrZU6AyEC}}|date=May 18, 2009|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-46969-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.dolphinmovie.com/background.pdf |title= Scientists say dolphins should be treated as 'non- human persons' |last1=Leake |first1= Jonathan |last2= Brooks |first2= Helen |date= January 3, 2010 |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |via= dolphinmovie.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160410080701/http://www.dolphinmovie.com/background.pdf | archive-date =April 10, 2016 | access-date =January 4, 2010 }}</ref> Four countries – [[Chile]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Hungary]], and [[India]] – have declared dolphins to be "non-human persons" and have banned the capture and import of live dolphins for entertainment.<ref>Land, Graham (July 29, 2013). ''[http://asiancorrespondent.com/111205/dolphin-rights-the-world-should-follow-indias-lead/ Dolphin rights: The world should follow India's lead]''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829094716/http://asiancorrespondent.com/111205/dolphin-rights-the-world-should-follow-indias-lead/ |date=August 29, 2013 }}. [[Asian Correspondent|Asiancorrespondent.com]]. Hybrid News Ltd. Retrieved July 29, 2013.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://moef.nic.in/assets/ban%20on%20dolphanariums.pdf |title=Policy on establishment of dolphinarium |access-date=August 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322165915/http://www.moef.nic.in/assets/ban%20on%20dolphanariums.pdf |archive-date=March 22, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/dolphins-gain-unprecedented-protection-in-india/a-16834519|title=Dolphins gain unprecedented protection in India &#124; DW &#124; 24.05.2013|website=DW.COM}}</ref>