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Dolphin-human interaction is increasing at sites around the world, occurring more than ever before. The choice that a dolphin makes to interact (its agency) when under no compulsion to do so is a factor in deciding how to manage these interactions. I investigated the representation of the agency of dolphins in the international Dolphin-Human Interaction Management discourse. I found that it is often unacknowledged, frequently denied and suppressed. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, I analysed the Australian guidelines for interaction, two peer-reviewed articles, and a policy paper from a leading animal-welfare organization and found that the agency of dolphins, when mentioned at all, was generally allowed little effect. The colonisation of agency by a scientific discourse that'others' dolphins, regarding them as animals with little to no subjectivity, does not reflect the findings of the broader discourse of dolphin research. Dolphins have been shown to exhibit a wide range of biological, behavioural, and ethological qualities that clearly demonstrates the capacity for, and presence of, their agency. An analysis of one peer-reviewed article revealed a new approach to this, demonstrating that agency can be represented, and responded to appropriately, in Dolphin-Human Interaction Management.