The Welfare and Ethics of Public Display of Dolphins

An all-star panel of researchers, Heather Hill, Jason Bruck and Isabella Clegg discuss and debate a recent published essay in the Journal of Applied Animal Ethics Research by Dr. Clegg in which she explores what the future may hold for the public display of cetaceans. Dr. Clegg asserts that "...any industry that uses animals must largely align their ethical position with that of the general public: ‘the mainstream social ethic’."  In response, Drs. Hill and Bruck ask what if the public's prevailing opinions of animals like dolphins in human care are based on faulty science or are flat out wrong? Should zoological facilities align their animal management, business models, and conservation programs with a false or unsubstantiated public narrative just because it may be held by the majority?

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