MPs demand release of penguins ‘trapped in basement’ of London aquarium

Local TV

A group of 75 MPs has joined animal welfare activists in calling for the release of 15 penguins “trapped in a basement without sunlight or fresh air” at the Sea Life London Aquarium.

Transcript

00:00So this is a story that has been on the cards for a while now.

00:04The Sea Life London Aquarium, which is of course just behind me across the river,

00:10opened its first penguin exhibits in May 2011, introducing 10 Gentoo penguins from Edinburgh Zoo,

00:18which according to campaigners have now endured 14 years in a basement

00:23equipped with a pool of only six to seven feet deep.

00:29In a letter to Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Emma Reynolds,

00:35the campaign group asked her to consider whether the penguins should be relocated to a more suitable facility,

00:44better aligned with their behavioural, ecological and psychological needs.

00:5075 MPs have now joined animal welfare activists in calling for the release of 15 penguins.

00:57David Taylor, the Labour MP for Hemel Hampstead and letter coordinator,

01:04went as far as saying it's un-British to keep penguins trapped in a basement with no daylights or fresh air.

01:13Naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham, who attended a protest outside,

01:18The Aquarium last month called it a blight on the reputation of London's attractions.

01:26In response to all of this, a spokesperson from Merlin Entertainment,

01:31which owns the aquarium, said the enclosure replicates the penguins' natural habitat

01:38and is on the ground floor of the aquarium rather than in the basement.

01:44Transcription by CastingWords

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