Fifteen gentoo penguins are currently confined in a London Sea Life aquarium, sparking welfare concerns and an open letter from 75 MPs
By
Seventy-five MPs from across the political spectrum have come together to demand action for fifteen gentoo penguins confined in the basement of Sea Life London Aquarium.
Currently, these penguins are in an enclosure with no daylight, fresh air or outdoor access. Some penguins once experienced the outdoors but have since endured 14 years underground. Others have never seen the sky.
Enjoying this article? Check out our related reads:
In addition to their confined living environment, the penguins also face limited swimming conditions.
Gentoo penguins are the fastest swimmers and one of the deepest diving penguin species. In the wild, they can reach speeds of 22 miles per hour (35 kilometres per hour) and dive to depths of more than 182 metres. At Sea Life London, their pool is just six to seven feet deep – a fraction of the space they need to thrive.
The MP group, led by Labour MP David Taylor and Liberal Democrat MP and veterinarian Danny Chambers MP, have written an open letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. They call for an independent review into the penguins’ welfare and urge that, if conditions are found as unsuitable, the gentoos should be relocated to a facility that meets their physical and psychological needs.
They also call for Sea Life London’s owners, Merlin Entertainments, to end its penguin breeding programmes and permanently stop exhibiting penguins.
Signatories include MPs from Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, the DUP, and Independents, demonstrating a broad political and public consensus on this significant animal welfare issue.
The move represents a significant moment in the growing ‘Free the 15!’ movement, launched by Freedom for Animals. The MPs’ letter comes less than one month after the largest show of public support yet for the campaign. Last month, hundreds of protestors gathered in a mass demonstration outside Sea Life London Aquarium, all backing the campaign that has now secured more than 37,000 petition signatures.
‘By law, licensed zoos within the UK must provide environments that meet the ‘physical, psychological and social needs’ of the species that they keep,’ said Born Free’s captivity research and policy manager Chris Lewis.
‘How a windowless basement with a small pool meets the needs of the 15 gentoo penguins at Sea Life London is highly questionable and we welcome the call from MPs across Parliament for an independent review into the conditions these penguins currently have to endure,’ Lewis said.
