A penguin at Sea Life London Aquarium (Image: Daily Express)
Protesters are set to stage a demonstration against London Aquarium’s “dire” enclosure of penguins without daylight or fresh air.
Campaign groups and members of the public will descend on the Southbank facility from 1-3pm on Saturday to voice their fury at the habitat, which houses 15 gentoos without daylight or fresh air.
The Daily Express, 23 MPs, the Born Free Foundation, Freedom for Animals and wildlife conservationists are among those calling for the animals to be moved to a more suitable enclosure.
Isobel McNally, campaigns officer at Freedom for Animals, said: “One year ago, Freedom for Animals launched a campaign to demand that Sea Life London Aquarium (SLLA) stop the exhibition of penguins in their dire basement enclosure.
“We began this movement by working with local activists in London to put on a demonstration outside the venue.
“Since then, there have been multiple further protests and thousands of signatures to the petition, but Sea Life continues to put profit ahead of ethics and has not yet rehoused the penguins in a suitable environment.
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“This weekend, one year into the campaign, we are protesting again. We will continue this campaign for as long as it takes to win these animals the freedom they deserve.”
A petition demanding SLLA, which is owned by Merlin Entertainments, moves the penguins has attracted nearly 4,500 signatures.
The Daily Express was previously threatened with legal action for daring to call the penguins “captive”.
The penguins are kept in an enclosure with up to 7ft of water depth in which to dive.
Campaigners argue this is especially shocking because gentoo penguins can dive up to 600ft in the wild.
A SLLA spokeswoman said: “The welfare of all the animals in our care is of paramount importance to us at Sea Life and we are committed to delivering the highest levels of care through our team of dedicated welfare experts, both internal and external.
“Sea Life conforms to all requirements under the Standards of Modern Zoo Practice by providing the relevant zoo licensing authorities with access to its animal records.
“This is in addition to regular visits including zoo licence inspections by these local authorities, alongside additional external inspectors and independent vets, who monitor animal welfare and data on an ongoing basis and will continue to do so.
“SLLA also carries out its own regular health checks on all the animals in its care, while an independent specialist vet also visits every two months for routine assessments, and can also be contacted daily with any other concerns.
“The Gentoo penguin habitat at SLLA was designed with help and advice from specialist vets. It provides an excellent balance of water and land for the penguins which enables them to express their normal behaviours and there is space for them to ensure they have sufficient privacy.
“As part of its overall mission, SLLA provides an opportunity to share the wonders of the natural world in an accessible manner. With the opportunity to educate more than a million people who visit SLLA from all around the globe each year to care for the world’s oceans and the marine life within it, we believe this is a hugely positive thing.”
To sign the petition to free the penguins,