On Sunday 19th October, Freedom for Animals were joined by approximately 250-300 passionate animal rights supporters, alongside our friends at Born Free Foundation, The Express (and four very well-known guests!) outside the gates of Sea Life London Aquarium, to speak up for animals cruelly being held captive there.
Together, we share a very important goal – to free the fifteen gentoo penguins trapped in an underground basement there!
The protest received incredible coverage in the press, and the continued spotlight on it today is proof that people across the UK recognise the injustice being committed to animals in confinement. The petition signatures have even jumped up, with nearly 12,000 more people taking action and signing since yesterday!
Since 2011, Sea Life has held the gentoo penguins trapped in a small, windowless prison, with no daylight, no fresh air, and a pool just six to seven feet deep. In the wild, these extraordinary animals would dive over 600 feet and swim up to 22 miles per hour! Yet there, underneath the feet of tourists strolling along the South Bank of London, they sit in confinement. Most have never even felt the sun on their face or the wind through their feathers in their entire lives.
To amplify this urgent call for freedom, we were joined by celebrity speakers Chris Packham, Megan McCubbin, Dale Vince and Feargal Sharkey.
This special protest was a way to collaborate and showcase our demands even further, because, together, our voices are of course even louder! And the truth is clear: penguins don’t belong in a windowless London basement and they must be moved. Enough is enough!
Dale Vince kicked off with:
“Locking penguins in a basement is the very opposite of conservation. It teaches us nothing about nature or how to respect it. It is simply cruelty, marketed as family fun.”
Chris Packham said:
“It’s heartbreaking to think that these remarkable penguins, birds built for icy seas and vast skies, are confined to a windowless London basement. Penguins don’t belong in prisons.”
Megan McCubbin described:
“Gentoo penguins are one of the most amazing species that we have on our planet, and they’re trapped in what I can only describe as a horrible, dingy, dark basement. When you walk through – I’ve only been once and I will never go again – you can’t help but feel heartbroken about them.”
What We Want to See
From our perspective, this is not simply a matter of improving conditions – it’s a moral imperative to end the display and unnecessary confinement of these sentient beings. Currently their entire lives are being shaped by the zoo and aquarium industry to provide human entertainment, and it’s a disgrace.
We demand:
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An immediate end to the penguin breeding programmes at Sea Life London.
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A permanent end to the exhibition of penguins.
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The safe re-homing of all 15 penguins to a facility that provides them with a more suitable environment. This should be a genuine sanctuary independently operated by a recognised and respected welfare and conservation organisation.
True compassion means acknowledging that animals are not props for our amusement – they’re individuals with lives, needs and rights.
Together, we can win this fight, and make sure we see change for these incredible birds!
What you can do
Join us! There are so many vital ways you can take action on this campaign.
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