How We Treat Dolphins: The Awful Truth

"every year, fishing nets kill up to 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises globally and entanglement is the greatest threat to the survival of many species.”

(Source: Greenpeace.com)

Along with whales and porpoises, dolphins are cetaceans, the World Wildlife Fund says they are “air-breathing, warm-blooded mammals that bear live young and nurse them on milk. They live their entire lives in the oceans and seas worldwide, inshore and pelagic”.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, which classifies the global threat of extinction to species, has assessed 38 species of dolphin. There are a three species that are endangered; the Hector’s Dolphin, the Yangtze River Dolphin and the South Asian River Dolphin. However, for just over a third of these species there is not enough data available to confirm the threat.

National Geo Endangered River Dolphins

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), which is a leading global dolphin charity, says that “dolphins face a broad range of threats: activities such as oil and gas exploration and production, marina development, pollution and more are increasingly putting pressure on the dolphins and their environment”. According to the IUCN the river dolphins are particularly vulnerable to collisions with vessels, poaching, loss or degradation of habitat by water development, land use practices and pollution. In addition, Greenpeace says that “every year, fishing nets kill up to 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises globally and entanglement is the greatest threat to the survival of many species.”

But there are also captive marine mammals to consider. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) believes that regulations in the U.S. are lacking as it is still legal to capture dolphins: “There is no law in the United States that is specifically designed to protect the welfare of dolphins,” which leaves a massive loop hole for the continued exploitation and abuse of dolphins.

“dolphins face a broad range of threats: activities such as oil and gas exploration and production, marina development, pollution and more are increasingly putting pressure on the dolphins and their environment”.

(Source: The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS))

To help protect dolphins there is plenty we can do:

Support the work of an organization such as WDCS and WSPA. You can follow their work on Facebook.

Make a donation to help fund the dolphin protection campaigns all over the world.

Adopt a dolphin to help save these wonderful creatures.

Volunteer with a not-for-profit organization on a dolphin project.

Please learn more about global warming, and the decline of the forests. Teach your children and others about the importance of reducing waste, pollution and greenhouse gases.

Thank you for taking the time to read about Dolphins.

Lucy Brake: Writer & Editor

Sharon Haddox: Writer, Editor & Designer
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